Inset top: Jack Campitelli (Facebook). Inset bottom: Donald Trump waits for the start of proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court, May 14, 2024, in New York (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool). Background: JW Marriott in Nashville (Google Maps).
A man who allegedly threw chairs from the balcony of a Nashville, Tennessee, hotel in the early hours of the morning was apparently irate and ranting about Donald Trump and other political figures as he was being booked, reportedly declaring: “Trump needs to die because he was a liar.”
Jack Campitelli, 58, was arrested on July 24, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime on Friday. He is currently being held at the Downtown Detention Center and according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office he is charged with three misdemeanors including vandalism, disorderly conduct and trespass.
His bond totals $2,500 for all charges and he remains in custody. It is unclear if Campitelli has retained an attorney.
Local NBC affiliate WSMV reported that Metropolitan Nashville Police were alerted to the ruckus allegedly caused by Campitelli only after driving past the JW Marriott on 8th Avenue South in downtown Nashville just before 6 a.m.
Police were flagged down by a hotel employee.
The employee told police that Campitelli had been asked to leave repeatedly and had refused and at one point, tossed two chairs from a hotel balcony onto the sidewalk below. At least two officers were called to assist.
ScoopNasvhille reported that police tried to approach Campitelli and as they did, he started to rant about Trump and other political figures.
Once actually detained, he allegedly began saying that “Trump needs to die because he was a liar.”
Police notified the Secret Service as a result.
The Secret Service did not immediately return a request for comment to Law&Crime on Friday.
Police in Tennessee also said that they reviewed hotel security footage after detaining Campitelli. ScoopNashville reported video footage clearly showed the man throwing a chair — valued at $300 — onto the sidewalk where another one had already landed.
It is unclear when Campitelli will appear in court next.
On Capitol Hill on Thursday, FBI director Christopher Wray told U.S. lawmakers probing the assassination attempt on Donald Trump that the nation is currently in an “elevated threat environment,” ABC affiliate WTXL reported.
“We are in an elevated threat environment, and we have been for some time, and that comes from a variety of quarters,” Wray said. “It is, quite frankly, a dangerous time to be a prominent public official.”
Campitelli only faces misdemeanor charges at this time for the alleged chair throwing — something downtown Nashville has seen its share of in recent months. As Law&Crime reported in April, country music singer Morgan Wallen was arrested for apparently throwing chairs off the six-story Chief’s Bar on Broadway, only minutes from where Campitelli was arrested. Unlike Campitelli, though, Wallen’s alleged projectiles landed close to two police officers, earning him three counts of felony reckless endangerment and a single count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Wallen appears in court next on Aug. 15.
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