The elderly owner of a California home, which he decorated to show his support for President Donald J. Trump, died after he was assaulted in a tragic incident that made national headlines.
The victim, 69-year-old Army veteran Kerry Sheron, passed away on Sunday after he was hospitalized following the May 20 confrontation with a 32-year-old Navy veteran who allegedly coldcocked him outside of his Escondido home, known as the “Trump house” by locals for the display of patriotic symbols, including American flags and pro-Trump MAGA banners.
Kerry Sheron, 69, died Monday after being attacked outside his Escondido home. Suspect Thomas Caleb Butler pleaded not guilty Friday. https://t.co/Kn0aeOkQlQ
— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) May 26, 2026
Sheron was minding his own business when he was viciously attacked by Thomas Caleb Butler, a man with a history of mental issues, who allegedly beat him and then stomped on the patriotic senior citizen’s head before bystanders intervened.
“It was a single punch to the jaw,” Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia said. “The victim then falls to the floor, and there are subsequent hits to the victim’s head area.”
Sheron was hospitalized following the brutal incident outside of the home on Buchanan Street, where security camera footage showed him being approached by the assailant, who acted out with deadly violence.
Butler was arrested a few blocks away after the attack and remains jailed without bail. Charges are likely to be upgraded after Sheron’s death.
The suspect’s wife said that they had been separated for two years due to his erratic and violent behavior, and he “frequently” mixed alcohol with his medication.
“[He] has a history of mental health illness, and it became violent for our family, so it was best we were in separate households,” Breanna Butler recently told the California Post. “Every time we speak, it’s very hostile.”
(Video Credit: Fox 5 San Diego)
Sheron’s “Trump house” had previously been the target of vandals who have a problem with political free speech, which is still allowed in the United States.
“Kerry was a Trump supporter, but he was a patriot first, and when people would come and spew anti-Trump stuff at him, he didn’t let it bother him,” the victim’s longtime friend Jim Gillie said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He’d just say, ‘They have a right to freedom of speech, and so do I.’”
“Her veteran husband did not deserve this,” neighbor Gina Gillie said, telling the outlet that the victim and his wife “are patriotic. It might be over the top, but it’s because no one else will be.”
While the motive for the attack remains unclear, the victim’s wife believes that it was politically motivated.
“He tried to kill my husband, you know,” Maria Sheron told CBS 8 last week before Sheron succumbed to his injuries. “It’s terrible. I don’t know what kind of hate… what heart, the black heart.”
“They don’t like the flags. I don’t know why. I support America. My husband is [a] veteran,” she said.
“I feel a lot of pain in my heart,” Mrs. Sheron told FOX 5 after her husband’s death, also saying that she felt bad for the suspect’s mother.
“I’m feeling bad for the mother for the guy who does that because he ruined his life,” she said. “I’m feeling bad for her, but the stuff he did to my husband is terrible.”
“I’m calling for a full and immediate investigation,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wrote on X after the attack took place. “Details still developing, but the truth is that supporters of @realDonaldTrump are routinely the victims of leftist violence all across the country.”
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