On Thursday, the Oregonian reported that a Multnomah County grand jury in Portland, Ore, refused to indict two people accused of assaulting a man in a bar for wearing a trademark Trump “Make America Great Again” hat.
As a result, the report said, the court dismissed the case against 23-year-old Adebisi Okuneye and 22-year-old Leopold Hauser.
The criminal allegations stemmed from an altercation at Growler’s Taproom on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard on Aug. 24, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said. (RELATED: Portland MAGA Hat Assault — Two Arrested)
The two were arrested after 34-year-old Luke Lenzner said they attacked him because of his red cap while on a date with his wife.
The Oregonian added:
Photos of Lenzner with a black eye and bloody face garnered national attention. He also gave interviews on local television about how he was “mobbed” and beaten for simply displaying his support for Trump in Portland, a liberal city known increasingly for its violent clashes between left- and right-wing activists.
Lenzner on Thursday blamed Portland’s “radical” political leanings for the outcome of his case.
“I know who hit me, who assaulted me,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “In any other city they would have been indicted.”
Lenzner’s account came under scrutiny after video surfaced that appeared to show him threatening and picking fights with patrons at a different bar earlier in the evening. During that confrontation, Lenzner also said he served in the military — a claim he later admitted wasn’t true.
It’s not known exactly why the grand jury failed to act in this case, but the report presents a somewhat convoluted story, saying that Lenzner’s wife wanted to see how people would react to his hat:
Hauser, court records show, told police that he and his friends at the bar had taken offense to Lenzner’s hat and stared him down.
Okuneye, a black woman, told police that Lenzner later came out of the bar and approached her, allegedly calling her an expletive and asking: “How do you like my hat?”
Lenzner told police that Okuneye “got in his face.” Lezner then pushed back to create distance, he said.
That’s when Lenzner said Hauser punched him in the face, court records show.
Lenzner continues to wear his cap around the neighborhood, but refuses to wear it into bars or other establishments.
“It’s just one more reason to move out of this state,” he told the Oregonian.
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