New York man allegedly beats up stranger for wearing pro-Trump hat in supermarket

Question

A New York man was arrested after police say he allegedly beat up a stranger at a supermarket, who was wearing a pro-Trump hat, breaking his teeth and bloodying his mouth.

Answer 1

While mostly only right-leaning news sites such as Fox News and the Miami Herald are spreading this story, it seems to be true. I found a post on the Bath, NY police department's Facebook about the arrest here: Facebook post. The post doesn't give much context about the event, but does state that Robert Yott randomly approached a stranger wearing a MAGA hat and started an aggressive confrontation that ended with Mr. Yott breaking the man's teeth and causing his mouth to bleed. Robert was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. 

Miami Herald article: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article294989499.html

Fox News article: https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-man-allegedly-beats-up-stranger-wearing-pro-trump-hat-supermarket-police   

Comments

Concerning worries about political tension turning violent are raised by the event in Bath, New York, where Robert Yott is accused of assaulting a man over a "Trump 2024" hat. This incident serves as a reminder that even minor disputes over politics can have far-reaching effects. Regardless of the political backdrop, Yott's claimed actions, punching the victim repeatedly and causing serious harm are quite concerning.

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This is a great answer, specifically going to the police department Facebook page.

Answer 2

This article is true. The source included in the article from Fox News is the police report, where they said that Robert Yott assaulted him in a market. This is corroborated in The Daily Wire, a media company owned by Ben Shapiro. The only sources I found are from right leaning sources, but this is likely due to the nature of the incident being political in nature, and because of the election happening less than 48 hours later.

Daily Wire article: https://www.dailywire.com/news/man-badly-beats-trump-supporter-for-wearing-a-trump-2024-hat-police-say 

Comments

I appreciate that you highlighted the police report since it is concrete evidence. I also found it interesting that only right-leaning publications are covering the story, but you make a good point that the internet is inherently political so it makes sense that a story like this would get picked up by Republican news outlets.

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It seems like a lot of these articles have not had anything truly confirmed, however the police report seemed to have a lot to confirm about it, yet nothing should be said until after the sentencing because many more things can come up in a trial. On the other hand, the Daily Wire article seems to not be working at this point, for reasons unknown. It is important to take a lot of stuff like this with salt as it was put very close to the election and thus can be blown out of proportion to some extent.