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- The 81-year old Franklin Township resident was wearing the hat while shopping at a supermarket when he was "confronted" say police.
- He sustained "minor" injuries and declined medical attention.
- MAGA hats have been a flashpoint in other confrontations across the US.
- Police are expected to release more information on the New Jersey incident later Wednesday.
An 81-year-old man was attacked in a New Jersey supermarket for wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with President Donald Trump’s "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) slogan, prosecutors say.
Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement posted on their Facebook page Tuesday that the alleged attack occurred at about 3.30 pm on Monday while the man was shopping in a ShopRite store in Somerset.
"The incident reportedly began after the victim was confronted about the red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat he was wearing. The victim sustained minor injuries and declined medical attention," said the prosecutor’s office in their statement.
A law enforcement source told NBC affiliate News 4 that the alleged attack happened at the ShopRite grocery store on Elizabeth Avenue.
Prosecutor’s office information officer Jeanne Trillhaase told INSIDER that police plan to release more information later on Wednesday.
Monday’s alleged attack is not the first time that MAGA slogan-branded clothing has sparked confrontation.
In January, a group of students, some wearing MAGA caps, from a Catholic high school in Kentucky were filmed in a tense encounter with a group of Native American protesters in Washington DC.
Earlier in February Rosiane Santos was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly knocking a MAGA-slogan hat off a man in Massachusetts restaurant, according to CBS affiliate WBZ.
A 16-year-old Trump supporter in Texas last June posted a video of himself being insulted by a man who then threw a soft drink at him and took his MAGA cap from him in a burger restaurant in San Antonio. The man, Kino Jimenez, was subsequently charged with theft.
In a tweet, the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., described the June attack as “disgusting and a disgrace.”
“No one should feel unsafe supporting their President,” he added.
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Source: Business Insider – tporter@businessinsider.com (Tom Porter)