Shopper is beaten at store for wearing a 2024 presidential campaign hat, NY cops say

The nation’s contentious presidential election boiled over in a small town grocery store when one shopper attacked another over a presidential campaign hat, according to police in New York.

It happened around 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1 — four days before Election Day — at a Tops Friendly Market in the Village of Bath. The village of about 5,600 people is a 100-mile drive southeast from Buffalo.

“It was determined that Robert Yott ... initiated a confrontation with a stranger inside Tops, after becoming aggressive over the fact the stranger was wearing a Trump 2024 hat,” Village of Bath police said in a news release.

“Yott punched the victim in the mouth and head several times, causing the victim’s teeth to be broken and mouth bloody,” police said. “Mr. Yott as not known to the victim and this appears to be a random act of violence.”

Many polls report the contest is neck and neck between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Yott was arrested and charged with one count of felony second degree assault and misdemeanor criminal mischief, police said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 7:22 AM with the headline "Shopper is beaten at store for wearing a 2024 presidential campaign hat, NY cops say."