A retired New York cop was reportedly punched in the face at his 50th birthday party for wearing a hat that a woman mistook for a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat.
Daniel Sprague, a former NYPD detective, said a woman punched him in the face at a Nashville music venue over the weekend because his hat looked like a MAGA hat, according to FOX 5. The hat, which he received as a birthday present from his wife, actually read “Make Fifty Great Again.” (RELATED: Van Driver Plows Through GOP Voter Registration Tent In Florida, Sheriff’s Office Says)
In photos shared to Facebook, Sprague appeared to have an open wound near his cheek and blood running down his face. (RELATED: Video Shows Woman Being Harassed For Wearing MAGA Hat)
“At one point, a female came up from behind me, spun me around, and punched me in the face and then grabbed my hat off my head and was just yelling, ‘How dare you,'” Sprague told News4 WSMV. He also said the cut went deep enough to go to the bone.
NYC Council Member Joe Borelli called it an example of “Trump Derangement Syndrome”
In @realDonaldTrump derangement syndrome news:
Meet my pal Danny. He’s a retired #NYPD, & a pillar of our community
Goes to #Nashville to celebrate his 50th. Wears a “Make Fifty Great Again” Hat
A woman punches him (she thinks it’s a MAGA hat) & flees the scene
This is 2020 pic.twitter.com/iiZqpblJha
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) February 10, 2020
Sprague has filed a police report and is waiting to hear back from detectives.
This incident comes as both verbal and physical attacks on people wearing MAGA hats have occurred across the country. Washington Nationals pitcher Kurt Suzuki was ridiculed for wearing one of the hats at the White House. A Florida man received 90 days in prison for spitting on a 67-year-old man who was wearing a MAGA hat in January, while a man in Portland, Oregon, claimed that he was beaten up by a bar mob for wearing a MAGA hat in August 2019.