NY man charged with assaulting person for wearing 'Trump 2024' hat at supermarket
Police in a New York village arrested a man Friday suspected of assaulting a stranger for wearing a "Trump 2024" campaign hat, according to a news release.
The Bath Village Police Department said 60-year-old Robert Yott punched a person in the mouth several times at a Tops supermarket earlier in the day. He broke the victim's teeth and left their mouth bloody, the agency noted.
Yott allegedly assaulted the victim because they were wearing a "Trump 2024" hat. The suspect did not know the person he allegedly assaulted, according to the release. Yott was charged with second-degree assault and criminal mischief as a result of the incident.
Last week, Florida police said they arrested an 18-year-old who held a machete outside an early voting location to antagonize voters that had different political viewpoints.
Caleb Williams and seven teenagers had approached a group of people waving signs outside the Neptune Beach location before engaging in an argument, according to the city's police department.
"The group was there for no other reason but for ill intentions to cause a disturbance," Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said. "This is not an incident of solely a first amendment-protected right but rather one where they were simply there to cause a ruckus."
Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., urged people in September to temper their political rhetoric following the second assassination attempt on former President Trump.
"Clearly, we need to take this seriously, take the threat seriously and tone down that rhetoric as we go forward," she said.
President Joe Biden also asked Americans in an address to the U.S. after the first assassination attempt to "cool" what he said had become "heated" rhetoric.
"All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches. And the higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become," Biden said. "This places an added burden on each of us to ensure that no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence."
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