Sex offender wanted for shooting sheriff's deputy breaks into home with Trump 2020 flag flying outside, and homeowner kills him in shootout

An armed sex offender — wanted for shooting a Florida sheriff's deputy and who was said to have an "evil mindset" and was out to "kill and destroy"— made the last mistake of his life when he broke into a home flying a Trump 2020 flag Wednesday morning.

The Dixie County Sheriff's Office said it assisted the Taylor County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday about 9:45 p.m. after it was reported that a Taylor County deputy was shot during a traffic stop. Dixie County deputies and other agencies searched all night for the suspect without success.

Then on Wednesday around 7:20 a.m., Dixie County deputies responded to a call from a homeowner who said he shot an intruder. The homeowner told arriving deputies he exchanged gunfire with the suspect who'd entered the home. The suspect, Gregory Miedema, was dead at the scene. Miedema was suspected of shooting the Taylor County deputy Tuesday night.

Deputies also found at the scene the suspect’s vehicle and several firearms strategically placed in what appeared to be an ambush setup, the sheriff's office said.

During a subsequent press conference, Dixie County Sheriff Darby Butler said he believes Miedema "had an evil mindset; his thought process was to kill and destroy innocent people, and fortunately he did not succeed in that."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had nothing but praise for the homeowner who took out Miedema, telling WTVT-TV that "when you break into a house of a stranger and you're shot — shot and killed — that's on you. The homeowner did exactly what he should have done, and that's protect himself, his family, and his home."

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