SAN ANTONIO — A Texas man who wore a hat supporting former President Donald Trump punched an election worker in San Antonio who told him that wearing items endorsing a candidate are prohibited at voting sites, a sheriff said Friday.
The suspect violated Texas law by entering the polling location on San Antonio’s west side on Thursday wearing a Make America Great Again hat in support of Donald Trump, according to a sheriff’s report. The suspect reportedly complied with the poll worker’s request to remove his hat.
After casting a vote, the suspect reportedly wore the hat again while leaving the polling location. The poll worker approached the suspect once more and requested that they take off the hat. The suspect proceeded to strike the poll worker on their chest and face.
The election worker, identified as a 69-year-old man, was treated at the scene Thursday and returned to his election post at a San Antonio library on Friday, officials said.
The suspect, identified as Jesse Lutzenberger, was booked into the Bexar County jail. He is being charged with a third-degree felony of assaulting an elderly person and could face additional charges, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Both the sheriff and county elections administrator urged voters to stay calm and patient during sometimes long waits to vote during what they described as a contentious election.
“Thankfully there was nothing life-threatening about what occurred, but it was still an ugly incident,” Salazar said.
Salazar said there have been “several” incidents of voters wearing prohibited clothing or caps into polling places, but they then removed them when the state law was explained to them.
“Nothing here is worth getting hurt for, going to jail for," he said.
“Violence has no place in our elections process. This type of behavior will absolutely not be tolerated. We will not allow anyone to disrupt the election process. Election Administrator Jacque Callanen, her staff, and the election officials are doing an excellent job accommodating what so far has been a record turnout for early voting,” Bexar County Judge Sakai said in a statement. “They are to be applauded for their efforts. The overwhelming number of people casting their ballots are behaving responsibly and respectfully. We want to protect and defend the right to vote for all citizens who are eligible to vote. Let’s respect everyone who is involved in our voting process.”
Texas law prohibits the display of political candidate support on shirts, hats, buttons or masks at polls.
Voters who decline to remove clothing or reverse shirts can face a Class C misdemeanor and be fined up to $500.
This law affects voters, poll workers and loiterers within 100 feet of a polling place.