His MAGA hat was enough to drive patrons of a bar in Portland, Oregon, to violence, according to police.
Luke Lenzner told the local Fox affiliate, Fox 12, that he and his wife went to Growler’s Taproom in the liberal city last Saturday on a “date night.” He said that they were almost immediately attacked outside by people upset about the hat.
“I got mobbed by everybody that was in that bar outside. People came from the inside out ― just circled me and my wife,” said Lenzner. “Surrounding me, like literally surrounding me, pushing me. I’m just trying to get through, trying to stop the person from hitting me, from taking my hat, and then I get sucker punched.”
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Responding officers found Lenzner at the scene with injuries to his face. Leopold A. Hauser, 22, and Adebisi A. Okuneye, 23, were arrested a few blocks from the bar and charged with third-degree assault. They were arraigned Monday and are scheduled to be indicted on Sept. 6.
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Lenzner told FOX 12 that he and his wife, who was not identified, went to Growler’s Taproom as part of a bar-hopping date night. According to a probable cause affidavit, she asked Lenzner to wear the “‘Make America Great Again hat” on their date “so she can see how people treat him.”
Hauser told police that he disagreed with the political statement of the hat and his group was “mean mugging” Lenzner. Then, he said, Lenzner asked if they liked the hat.
Okuneye said that Lenzner came out of the bar and said, “B—-es, do you like my hat?,” which kicked off an argument.
Lenzner’s wife said that both men punched her husband.
Assaults against MAGA hat owners are fairly common
Hausner is not alone in despising the MAGA hat. Many see the accessory as symbolic of President Donald Trump’s alleged racism, sexism and “homophobia.”
However, Trump supporters generally deny that’s what supporting the president is about. Their viewpoint was given given some statistical weight by a May University of Pennsylvania study suggesting that Americans have become less prejudiced as a result of Trump’s presidency.
Regardless, Lenzner is far from the first Trump supporter to suffer for his hat. Last month, a New York City art gallery owner reported being assaulted by a group of teens enraged by his MAGA hat.
In a number of cases, though, the aggressors have ended up paying a price for their actions.
In April, a California woman went missing after she filmed herself harassing a man in the hat at a local Starbucks, causing her to lose her job and face national backlash.
In February, a woman who attacked a man wearing the hat was found to have immigrated to the United States illegally and was deported.