San Antonio Voter Released After Assaulting Clerk Over MAGA Hat

The man arrested for assaulting a 69-year-old election clerk after being asked to remove his “Make America Great Again” hat at an early voting site in Bexar County was released from jail Friday.

The man, Jesse Lutzenberger, 63, was arrested Thursday and charged with injury to an elderly person at a Southwest Side polling site, according to the San Antonio Express-News. He faces a third-degree felony assault charge, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Lutzenberger posted a $30,000 bond Friday and was released from the Bexar County jail.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said his office will “vigorously prosecute” Lutzenberger and anyone who engages in this type of criminal behavior.

According to reports, Lutzenberger entered the Johnston Branch Library in southwest San Antonio wearing a red MAGA hat. A 69-year-old early voting clerk asked him to remove his hat, as Texas law prohibits people from wearing campaign apparel at or near polling locations.

Lutzenberger complied with the order and took the hat off while he voted, but he put it back when leaving the polling site, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. The voting clerk then told Lutzenberger that it was “unacceptable” for him to wear the hat inside the library. Then he escorted him out the building.

When both were approaching the exit doors, Lutzenberger “appeared to throw an arm back toward the victim,” Salazar said.

“The victim seemed to push off of the suspect,” Salazar added. “At that point, the suspect then turned and threw several punches right at the face of the victim.”

Deputies were called to the scene at 6:25 p.m. The injured worker received medical attention. According to Salazar, he did not sustain any serious injuries, but had “some marks to his face.”

“The right to vote is sacrosanct in our country and the bedrock of our democracy. But no one has the right to assault, threaten, harass or intimidate an election employee or voter,” Gonzales said. “Please rest assured that if anyone in our community engages in this conduct at a polling site, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, under my leadership, will hold those individuals accountable.”