California Man Arrested For Assaulting A Man Wearing A ‘Make America Great Again’ Hat With Russian Writing
California police have made an arrest stemming from a September incident in which a man wearing a red-and-white hat that said “Make America Great Again” in Russian was assaulted and robbed, FOX News reports.
Back on September 2, at about 6:40 p.m. local time, the unidentified victim was eating at a restaurant in Hermosa Beach, and was wearing the hat in question. Unlike the more traditional hat that has become something of a symbol of the Trump presidency and his supporters, the message on this one was written in Russian.
A fellow diner, later identified as David Delgado, 32, allegedly went into the restroom where the victim had gone, and asked him about the meaning of the hat, according to a police statement.
“The suspect approached the victim in the restroom and questioned him about the meaning of the hat, after which the suspect repeatedly punched the victim in the face causing the victim to fall to the ground,” the statement reads.
The suspect then allegedly continued to punch the victim, before allegedly stealing his hat and then getting away before he could be stopped and detained.
It took a few weeks, but police were later able to identify and track down Delgado, via surveillance footage and “investigative resources.” This week, he was arrested in his home in Winnetka, California, without incident.
Trump supporter in Miami. Hat says "Make America Great Again" in Russian. Nice guy. We shared a Cuban coffee at Versailles in Little Havana. pic.twitter.com/nUsVIwCXEO
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 16, 2017
Delgado is being held on $100,000 bail.
Versions of the hat with the Russian phrase have become somewhat popular ever since Saturday Night Live performer Alec Baldwin posted a picture of himself on Instagram wearing the hat.
Some versions of that hat, produced by different manufacturers and sold by various retailers, bear a slightly different translation of the phrase, translating being an inexact science. For example, you can see a hat with the phrase translated differently to Alec Baldwin’s hat here on Twitter.
Alec Baldwin is, of course, not a supporter of Donald Trump, and indeed, it could be argued that his choice to wear the hat was informed by him making a joke of the purported connections between Donald Trump and Russia.
Whether in Russian or in English, the red-and-white hat has been the catalyst for violence against the person wearing it more than once since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president. For example, as reported at the time by The Inquisitr, back in the summer of 2018, a teenager at a San Antonio Whataburger got his hat ripped off of his head by a man later identified as Kino Jimenez.
