John Cougar Mellencamp’s always been outspoken politically, and, though he’s cagey about assigning himself to a particular party, his career has seen him taking shots at Ronald Reagan and John McCain and playing rallies for Barack Obama.
What it was, then, that drove a 48-year old Indiana man named Robert P. Carter to attempt a citizen’s arrest on Mellencamp “for supporting a government” that Carter doesn’t remains in question. Nevertheless, Carter’s resolve was strong, as he allegedly drove his car through the security gate of the rocker’s Bloomington residence on Thursday morning.
Was it this New York Post column that (falsely) labeled Mellencamp a Trump supporter? Or was it this 2016 Rolling Stone interview, in which Mellencamp calls himself a socialist? “You probably don’t wanna have this conversation with me, but here’s the deal,” Mellencamp said. “I don’t trust the government. I don’t trust the Democrats. I don’t trust the Republicans. I’m a little bit more Democratic than I am Republican, but really I’m a socialist. And that’s where it’s at.” (Considering Trump and his sycophants have taken to calling everyone they disagree with a “socialist” it’s probably the latter.)
Nevertheless, Yahoo reports that Carter admitted to kicking down Mellencamp’s door after crashing through the gate. Police found him inside a building on the property, after which they promptly arrested him. He was charged with burglary, residential entry and criminal trespass, and was reportedly released earlier this week on a separate charge of carrying a handgun without a license.
Mellencamp, nor his wife, actress Meg Ryan, were home at the time of the break-in.