According to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital, a Washington State University instructor was arrested in February for reportedly assaulting a student who was wearing a red “Take America Back” hat from President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The incident occurred just before 11 p.m. on Feb. 28 when the instructor, Patrick Mahoney, allegedly grabbed the student, Jay Sani’s hat, and threw it onto the roadway, as noted in the Pullman Police Department report.
Mahoney then told Sani, “Go get it, b—-,” according to the report.
Sani explained to the authorities that he was on his way to a nearby restaurant to return a food order that was incorrect when he came across Mahoney walking past him on the university campus.
“You know, you’re f—— wearing that hat, you wanted someone to f—— look at it, right,” Mahoney told officers, according to the report.
Mahoney continued: “You wanna wear the hat, hey, there’s gonna be a price to pay”.
When Sani initially reported the alleged assault to officers, he said that he understood that the red Trump hats “incite certain feelings in people,” the report said. The officer responded to Sani, saying “that he should be free to wear what he wanted.”
Mahoney told officers that the way he acted toward Sani “was the same way that people come up to him and mess with him about his political beliefs,” the police report stated.
When an officer asked Mahoney if Sani had done that before the altercation, Mahoney said “no.”
President Donald Trump popularized the slogan and red hats during his three presidential campaigns. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
Mahoney and Hoff were both arrested and charged with 4th degree assault. The men were later released.
Mahoney is a WSU instructor and a PhD student in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, the Daily Evergreen reported. The outlet said that Mahoney was suspended and removed from all classes he previously taught at the university.
A university spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that after the police department’s investigation into the matter, the staff member was fired. A second individual involved, a graduate student serving as a teaching assistant, was relieved of all teaching responsibilities. The university did not provide the name of the staff member or graduate student.
The spokesperson said no further details regarding the matter will be disclosed in compliance with federal privacy laws.
Sani wrote in a Facebook post in March that he wanted to share his story because of “how toxic the left has gotten.”
“To make it clear, I hate to say this, but i’m [sic] brown, but forget it,” he wrote. “I’m an engineering student that wants to get the degree, and move on. So what if I like someone that you don’t like. We have the 1st amendment, and its [sic] not okay that just because you don’t like that person, I should be attacked for it. You had a chance in November to oust him, but you didn’t.”
