Man Arrested After Attacking Texas Teen Wearing 'MAGA' Hat
Authorities in Texas say a suspect is in custody after viral video footage depicted an apparently unprovoked attack at a San Antonio fast-food restaurant.
Kino Jiminez, 30, was arrested in Universal City and is expected to face charges including theft of a person.
Witnesses said the man violently ripped a Donald Trump campaign hat from a 16-year-old boy’s head before throwing a drink at him.
According to Hunter Richard, the man grabbed the “Make America Great Again” cap from his head so forcefully that he also ripped out several hairs.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at a Whataburger location and an area bar soon identified the suspect as a part-time employee who had been fired for his behavior.
“It came to our attention earlier this evening that a part-time employee was captured on cell phone video assaulting another person at a local eatery,” Richard wrote in a Facebook post. “The assault took place, presumably, because this employee did not agree with the other individuals political stance.”
Richard confirmed shortly after the incident that he had filed a police report against the man.
Whataburger issued a statement in response to the video recorded in one of its restaurants, as reported by KABB.
“We were shocked to see this video and certainly don’t condone this type of customer behavior in our restaurants,” the company’s corporate communications office wrote. “To be clear, no Whataburger employees were involved or witnessed the incident, and we ask that questions be directed to San Antonio PD as we continue supporting their efforts. – Whataburger Corporate Communications.”
As part of the social media attention Richard has received as a result of the video, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his offer to replace the stolen hat.
If someone can get me this young man’s information I’ll get him a new #maga hat… SIGNED by #potus!!! https://t.co/zHBz4gKpkf
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 5, 2018
“If someone can get me this young man’s information I’ll get him a new #maga hat… SIGNED by #potus!!!” the president’s eldest son wrote.
As the video spread widely this week, Richard told reporters that he had seen “mixed opinions” expressed online, adding that he never expected the incident to attract as much publicity as it had.
“I was looking at the comments by some people and they are like, ‘This is uncalled for,'” he said. “And other people are like mixed opinions, but I didn’t think it would blow up to what it is now.”
Though the teens say they uploaded the video in hopes that it would lead to the suspect’s identification, the original clip has been viewed more than 1.4 million times as of Friday morning.
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