US

Anti-Trump Nutjob Arrested For Murder Of GOP Committeeman Neighbor

REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

Ryan Saavedra Contributor
Font Size:

A man described by neighbors as “quarrelsome” and who placed large anti-Trump signs in his yard is in police custody for the murder of his next-door neighbor – a GOP committeeman.

Police in West Goshen Township, PA, charged Clayton Carter, 51, in the shooting death of his next-door neighbor, G. Brooks Jennings in the early morning hours on Tuesday, according to ABC Philadelphia.

The conflict began on Monday evening when police officers responded to a dispute between Carter and Jennings that involved cursing and video recording in one of their backyards. Police de-escalated the conflict around 8 p.m. and left.

Shortly after midnight, police say another conflict erupted between the two neighbors as Carter claims that Jennings shined a light into his eyes. Carter purportedly told police that he then drove his car onto his lawn and shined the car’s high beams towards Jennings.

Investigators say it was at this point when Carter went into his home and grabbed a .380 semi-automatic pistol and confronted Jennings. Carter allegedly shot Jennings in the head, knocking him to the ground, and then stood over his body and shot him in the head again. Police say the victim Carter shot Jennings on Jennings property.

One neighbor described Jennings, a GOP committeeman, as “the nicest, best guy I’ve ever met in my whole life.”

Those same neighbors described Carter, who apparently had a history of conflict with multiple neighbors — including pulling a gun on Jennings in the past — as someone they avoided because of his volatile behavior.

“We steered clear of him. We were frightened of him [Carter] because he’s so unpredictable,” another neighbor said speaking about Carter.

Neighbors described his front yard as being crowded with cars and anti-Trump signs that he made himself. Many of the conflicts between Carter and his neighbors were apparently not political, but personal.

Police charged Carter with multiple crimes including first-degree murder which makes him ineligible for bail in the state of Pennsylvania.

Follow Ryan Saavedra on Twitter