Two people have been arrested after assaulting a man because he was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
The alleged assault happened outside a Hawthorne Boulevard bar in Portland early Saturday, Aug. 24.
The alleged victim, identified as Luke Lenzner by KPTV, told police that he and his wife were passing by a bar on Southeast Hawthorne when Adebisi Okuneye and Leopold Hauser confronted him about his hat.
“Victim stated that defendant Okuneye got into his face and he pushed her back to create distance,” read a statement from deputy district attorney Bumjoon Park.
“Victim stated that defendant Hauser punched [the] victim in the face,” the statement continued.
According to Park’s statement, the victim’s wife said both Okuneye and Hauser punched her husband.
Neither Hauser nor Okuneye admitted to committing assault. Hauser said he tried to separate the other two and said “arms were flying everywhere,” according to the DA’s summary. Okuneye reportedly “did not know who punched [the] victim.”
Lenzner’s wife told police that she encouraged him to wear the hat bearing the slogan for President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to see how Portlanders would react, according to court filings.
The alleged assailants reportedly left the area in a gold van, but were later arrested by police.