A Northern California man pummeled in a broad daylight attack last week told a Redding television station that he was beaten because he was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap backing President Donald Trump.
The 77-year-old military veteran from Red Bluff was beaten Sept. 18 outside a post office in Red Bluff, in Tehama County, about 130 miles north of Sacramento. The man was not identified by KRCR, but said he was approached by a man and woman.
“She looked at me and she goes, ‘We just don’t like people like you,’” the man told KRCR-TV. “(I) Just kind of got shocked a little bit and said, ‘Well, that breaks my heart,’ and no sooner out of my mouth, I get hit on the left side of my head.”
77-year-old veteran attacked for wearing #MAGA hat in #RedBluff https://t.co/D1S8SGJciB
— KRCR News Channel 7 (@KRCR7) September 22, 2020
The man was wearing the signature hat used by Trump as his 2016 campaign slogan and a face covering emblazoned with the blue-striped American flag symbolizing support for law enforcement known as “Back the Blue.”
The man said his attacker placed him in a headlock and punched him on top of the head. Photos posted with the KRCR story show the man’s bruised scalp.
“I got blood all over the place and I’m trying to figure, ‘where’s my hat, where’s my package?’” he said.
Red Bluff Police later arrested a man, identified as Daniel Gomez-Martinez, on suspicion of battery and elder abuse in the attack, KRCR reported.
Tehama County is a solidly conservative county in California’s north state. Trump carried the county with 65 percent of the vote in 2016.
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