Oregon woman wearing MAGA hat attacked by protester as BLM and Back the Blue activists face off in viral video
GRESHAM, OREGON: A video that is making the rounds on social media shows a man fighting with a woman wearing Donald Trump's signature red 'Make America Great Again' hat at a flag-waving event in Oregon.
The incident unfolded as 'Black Lives Matter' protesters met with those who were affiliated with 'Back the Blue,' an activism campaign that is looking to drum up local community support for law enforcement, outside Gresham City Hall earlier this week. In the clip, which was posted by 'Black Rebel' Andrew Duncomb and has been viewed close to 200,000 times, a man can be seen attacking a woman who was wearing a MAGA hat. The pair can be seen grappling with each other for a few seconds when someone else approaches from behind the woman and appears to spray mace on the face of the man.
The fight continues for a few more seconds, with each of them throwing punches and hits at the other, before several others who were watching intervene and pull them apart. "You punched a girl! F*** you!" exclaims a person in the background as the man walks away and receives treatment.
The person with the camera continues to follow the man as several others surround him and help him clean the mace from his face. The video eventually ends after the man walks away, unhurt but still a little shaken from the mace.
BLM supporter attacks woman at Gresham City Hall Back The Blue Flag Wave. pic.twitter.com/m73aQuEnO3
— Black Rebel (Andrew Duncomb) (@SpaceForceUSA_) August 27, 2020
People with 'Back the Blue' had been at the city hall in response to a Black Lives Matter flag that is currently being flown at the government building. On Wednesday, August 26, the Gresham City Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the protest and the counter-protest that were taking place, as well as the possibility of removing the flag, currently scheduled to stay up until the end of the month, early because of safety concerns.
"The Council had a thoughtful and heartfelt discussion centered around keeping our residents and our police officers safe, and how best to accomplish that goal," they said in a statement. "The Council is united and unwavering in their support for the right of individuals to express their First Amendment rights and peacefully protest. As well, Gresham City Council strongly denounces violence, destruction of property and hate speech; individuals perpetrating these acts are not welcome in Gresham."
"The Black Lives Matter flag will continue to be flown, per Council's original direction, through August 31," they continued. "However, the work of continuing to foster equity and inclusion within Gresham will continue, as City Council is committed to furthering racial justice within our community."
While it is still unclear what sparked the fight between the man and the woman, this is not the first time that someone has reportedly been attacked for wearing a MAGA hat. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported how Matthias Ajple, a 43-year-old from Florida, had been sentenced to 90 days in jail for spitting on an elderly man sporting the hat.
On another occasion, a 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman from Oregon were arrested after sucker punching and attacking a man outside a bar in Portland for wearing the distinctive red hat.