A man allegedly punched a poll worker at an early voting site in Texas after he was asked to remove his red “MAGA” or “Trump” baseball cap, according to an incident report.
Jesse Lutzenberger, 63, was arrested Thursday and charged with injury to an elderly person, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Lutzenberger initially complied when asked by the 69-year-old early voting clerk to remove his cap while at the early voting site in Bexar County Thursday evening, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. The clerk had advised him that wearing political apparel violates the state’s electioneering laws, according to Salazar.
After voting, Lutzenberger then put the hat back on while still in the building, according to Salazar.
“The early voting clerk then informed him that that was unacceptable, and then began to escort the person out,” Salazar said at a press briefing on Friday.
As the two approached the doors of the exit of the facility, Lutzenberger “appeared to throw an arm back toward the victim,” Salazar said, citing security footage of the incident.
“The victim seemed to push off of the suspect. At that point, the suspect then turned and threw several punches right at the face of the victim,” the sheriff continued.
The election worker had “some marks to his face” but otherwise no serious injuries, Salazar said.
Lutzenberger was booked into the Bexar County jail on injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony, according to Salazar.
During a hearing on Friday, a judge set Lutzenberger’s bond at $30,000, which has been met, court records show.
When asked by reporters if Lutzenberger is going to be charged with assaulting an election worker, Salazar said authorities are looking at that now.
ABC News has reached out to Lutzenberger and his attorney for comment.
Texas is one of 21 states where people are prohibited from wearing campaign apparel in or near polling places, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In Texas, a person “may not wear a badge, insignia, emblem, or other similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot, or to the conduct of the election, in the polling place or within 100 feet of any outside door through which a voter may enter the building in which the polling place is located,” the law states.
Salazar said there have been several minor incidents since early voting started in the county, including a “swatting-type call.” He said he wanted to “bring down the tone of what’s going on out there.”
“Look, nothing here is worth getting hurt for going to jail for. This election is going to happen one way or another,” Salazar said. “One side is going to win, one side is going to lose. That’s just the nature of things.”
“But there’s no sense picking up a criminal case, picking up a criminal history — or injuring or even killing somebody in the name of politics,” he continued. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
