The man wearing the hat featuring President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan approached the victim and the two started arguing. When the victim tried to grab the hat, the attacker pulled out a sword and cut him, Officer Robert Rueca told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Scott Sweeney was inside when it happened but says, earlier, he and his girlfriend had been confronted by the same man in the MAGA hat making homophobic slurs.
“He was acting really nervous and strange and was kind of like walking around in circles and staring at us,” Sweeney said. “So we were weirded out.”
Police say during the dispute, the “MAGA” hat had been knocked from the suspect’s head. The skate rink’s owner, D. Miles, helped administer first aid to the victim. He, like many others, believes the hat was worn intentionally to pick a fight.
But another man who declined to give his name had a slightly different take. “I think it may have something to do with mental illness,” he said, “A person running around wearing a hat and carrying a sword looking for a fight … and looking for a reason to have a confrontation.”