Police: Woman admitted to slashing tire over MAGA hat seen inside SUV
Police in Arizona said an 18-year-old woman admitted to slashing the tire of a random SUV because she saw one of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats inside, The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday.
Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Vincent Lewis said the woman admitted to slashing the tire “because she saw a hat with a political message inside the vehicle which she disagreed with.”
{mosads}The car belonged to Nick Dugas, a retail security manager, who noticed something didn’t seem right after leaving the parking lot of Paradise Vally Mall.
He discovered a slash in his tire and turned back to find the security footage of the parking lot.
Dugas told the newspaper that footage showed a car pull up next to his. Four women got out and two peered into his truck, where they reportedly spotted one of Trump’s signature red campaign hats resting on the console.
Approximately seven minutes later, the women returned and got back into their car before the driver and front passenger got out again, according to the newspaper.
The front passenger could be seen scanning the parking lot as the driver squatted next to Dugas’s truck.
Footage reportedly showed his SUV suddenly dropping on the left side before the women got back in their car and left.
It cost Dugas $300 to replace the tire and he missed his mother’s birthday dinner because of the delay, he said.
“No one has a right to destroy property because they don’t agree with someone else,” Dugas told the newspaper. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being the victim of pure hate because of my belief.”
Dugas recounted how he started “picking the pieces apart” of the footage in an attempt to find the culprit.
He noticed that the driver was holding a distinctive red beverage from Dutch Bros. Coffee so the security manager walked across the street and asked the manager.
The woman came into the coffee shop often so Dugas checked the business’s Instagram feed and found the women among its followers. He turned over their names to the Phoenix police.
The driver who slashed the tire was cited for criminal damage, a Class 2 misdemeanor which is punishable by up to four months in jail and a $750 fine.
Lewis told the newspaper that police did not release her name because she was not booked.
Dugas wrote in a court statement that he wanted to forgive the woman rather than “spill hatred onto you like you did to me.
“Rather than wish upon you the same fear you wished upon me that day. But I really hope that you are listening. Just because I have a different yet equally as important view as you do, it doesn’t EVER give you the right to spew hate, cause fear, and interrupt someone else’s life.”
The “MAGA” hat, a symbol of Trump’s 2016 campaign and reelection bid, has sparked controversy and confrontation since before his election.
Police in Martin County, Fla., are investigating after a school bus aide allegedly grabbed a Trump hat off the head of a student.
A bar in New York City disciplined an employee who refused to serve a customer donning the cap.