An altercation broke out at a recent Donald Trump campaign office opening in Valdosta when a conservative activist confronted a Republican state legislator who sponsored changes to the state’s election laws, according to interviews and a police report.
The scuffle took place near the end of the campaign’s office opening on July 29, an otherwise celebratory event that drew dozens of attendees and several Republican state legislators. No charges were filed, though authorities say the confrontation turned physical.
State Rep. John LaHood, R-Valdosta, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that after he finished speaking he went to mingle with the crowd when activist Sam Carnline of Cairo confronted him with his concerns that a series of election-related measures weren’t strong enough.
Georgia’s election system has come under fire since Trump’s narrow 2020 defeat, and Carnline is among the activists who have pressed for paper ballots over the current voting system. Multiple investigations and recounts have confirmed the results of Trump’s loss, although he has continued to claim he was robbed.
LaHood said he engaged in a “passionate discussion” with Carnline, who wore a T-shirt advocating for paper ballots, until his wife walked up and they both decided to leave. At that point, authorities say the intensity escalated.
According to the Valdosta Police Department report obtained by the AJC, one of the attendees who intervened was Brandon Phillips, a veteran Republican operative who is now the top aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Jackson.
“Brandon Phillips got in the middle of the conversation because he didn’t like the questions he was asking,” the police wrote of Carnline. “Words were exchanged between he and Brandon, because he was upset that Brandon spit in his face.”
Phillips told authorities he didn’t spit in Carnline’s face and that Carnline pushed him to the ground during the confrontation. LaHood and several other attendees said they saw Carnline punch Phillips at least twice.
“I informed Brandon that he instigated the incident by spitting on Carnline,” the officer wrote in the report. “Both parties agreed to separate and go their separate ways with no further law enforcement action needed.”
Phillips told the AJC he intervened because he didn’t want the fight to escalate.
“They say politics can be a contact sport, and sometimes it is,” Phillips said. “I certainly don’t mind defending any volunteers or officials who are trying to contribute in a positive way toward a Trump victory from outside agitators with the opposite agenda.”
Carnline said in an interview that Phillips got in between him and LaHood and urged him to “quit bothering” the lawmaker. When Carnline refused, he said Phillips started insulting his family.
“I probably pointed at him and told him to get away from me. He immediately spit in my face. And at that point, I pushed him and shoved him as hard as I could,” Carnline said.
“He jumped back up. I cocked my fist back and was intending to hit him, but I might have just glanced his shoulder,” Carnline said. “Then people talked me down. But he deserved it.”
Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately comment on the dispute.
One of the witnesses was Dennis Futch of Moultrie, a veteran Republican activist. He told the AJC that he didn’t see Phillips spit, but that if he did it was inadvertent because they were both shouting. He said he saw Carnline shove or hit Phillips twice.
“I’m proud of Brandon because Brandon didn’t lay one finger on Sam Carnline. It wasn’t a fight. This was Sam trying to be a bully,” Futch said. “There’s no place for violence for either party.”
The fight was broken up by state Rep. Chas Cannon, a Moultrie Republican who is a U.S. Army veteran. He said he didn’t see Phillips spit at anyone but that he saw Carnline repeatedly attempt to shove Phillips.
“It was a heated conversation, and I didn’t think it was appropriate at an event like that. They were arguing with one another, and they went their separate ways,” Cannon said. “Passions run hot, but we need to work out our differences by talking it out.”
LaHood said the incident marred an otherwise upbeat event that drew a large crowd of Trump supporters to Valdosta.
“There were more people there trying to deescalate the fighting than promote it. It was uncomfortably intense, but thankfully it didn’t escalate any further,” he said. “This was just a minor black eye, but it didn’t define the event. Most people there didn’t even know it happened.”
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