The latest incident involving a person wearing a “Make America Great Again” took place in Massachusetts, with a woman assaulting a man who was wearing the “MAGA” cap.
The red hats are worn by supporters of President Donald Trump. People who wear the hat have been regularly targeted by obscenities and violence by people who dislike Trump.
In the latest case, Rosaine Santos, 41, was charged after assaulting a man, 23-year-old Bryton Turner, who was wearing the hat, seen in video footage that Turner captured after Santos began berating him.
Turner was sitting at the bar at a Mexican restaurant in Cape Cod when Santos, an immigrant from Brazil living in Falmouth, began yelling at him, prompting him to start recording.
“The minute I walked in she was saying stuff to me. All I said was ‘it’s just a hat, I can wear it wherever I want,’” Turner told MassLive. “Then throughout the hour or so she kept talking to the bartender telling him to poison my drinks and stuff. She threw the hat probably three times before I took the video.”
Restaurant staff members called the police.
Geo Macarao, a bartender, backed up Turner, who told the police Tuner was sitting and minding his own business when Santos approached him. In the video, Santos can be seen walking behind Turner and knocking the hat off of his head.
When police arrived at the restaurant, Santos told them Turner shouldn’t be allowed to eat in a Mexican restaurant while wearing the hat, reported Boston 25.
As she was being escorted out of the restaurant by officers, Macarao said she hit Turner over the head, according to the police report.
“I couldn’t imagine somebody just coming up and hitting them when there’s cops right here,” Macarao said.
由 Bryton Turner 发布于 2018年8月12日周日
Turner said that it was sad to see what happened.
“I think it’s sad that people don’t know how to behave in public. Just because I don’t agree with people doesn’t mean I’m going to be going around assaulting people,” Turner told MassLive.
Santos, though, claimed that she was the victim.
“I had a little bit to drink maybe that’s the reason that I couldn’t walk away but being discriminated for so many times in my life, I just had to stand up for myself,” she said. “He’s not a victim. I am the victim. I have been bullied, OK?”
Santos was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges on Feb. 20 and was released on her own recognizance, reported the Cape Cod Times. She’s scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on March 20.
Litany of Incidents
A number of other incidents against MAGA-hat wearing Trump supporters have occurred since he was elected president.
A few days prior to the incident, a Kentucky man was arrested after a Trump supporter and witnesses said he pulled a gun on a man wearing a MAGA hat.
The reported victim, Terry Pierce, said that he and his wife would continue wearing the hats.
On Feb. 12, a New York school district announced that a principal who denounced the district’s “MAGA-hat wearing culture” would be replaced and moved to an administrative position.
“This is a good day for you to die,” he said. https://t.co/xTWVnWkGyf
— Epoch Times LA (@EpochTimesLA) February 18, 2019
A slew of celebrities, analysts, activists, and even reporters condemned people wearing the hats after a video clip showing Kentucky teenagers in Washington wearing the hats surfaced. Alyssa Milano claimed that “the red MAGA hat is the new white hood.” A Hollywood producer said kids wearing MAGA hats should be killed. He later apologized.
When full video of the incident emerged, it was clear that Native American activist Nathan Phillips lied about various aspects of what happened, in addition to his past. A third-party investigation cleared the high schoolers.
In January, a California chef said that customers wearing MAGA hats would not be served in his restaurant. He later apologized.
#Hollywood producer @Jack_Morrissey, who posted a graphic video showing a person wearing “Make America Great Again” hat being shoved into a woodchipper and blood being spewed out, has apologized for the post.
Read the full story: https://t.co/o5GKhO6ecr pic.twitter.com/b0ITYmfHyZ
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 22, 2019
In November 2018, an Arizona man said he was assaulted while wearing a MAGA hat. Earlier in the year, a teenager wearing a MAGA hat was assaulted by a 30-year-old man at a Texas restaurant. The man was later indicted by a grand jury. The victim later received a signed MAGA hat from President Donald Trump.
In California in August, a California high school student was facing assault charges after knocking a MAGA hat off the head of a classmate and slapping a teacher who intervened in the altercation.
In July, a 17-year-old on vacation in Seattle said he was harassed for wearing the red hat.
In May, Cheesecake Factory employees attacked a man who was wearing a MAGA hat.