Texas man charged for punching election worker after asking to remove Trump hat

(The Hill) — A Texas man was charged after punching an election worker who asked him to remove a hat in support of former President Trump at a polling place. 

The suspect was identified as Jesse Lutzenberger by local law enforcement. Lutzenberger was told to remove his cap while walking through the voting spot. He cast his vote and then put his hat on before leaving the place, according to Bexar’s County Sheriff Javier Salazar. 

As he was leaving, the voting clerk told Lutzenberger to take off his hat as it's illegal to sport clothing supporting a candidate inside a polling area under Texas law. 

Lutzenberger then allegedly threw an arm or elbow back at the clerk, Salazar told reporters on Friday. The suspect then “turned and threw several punches right at the face of the victim.” 

The 69-year-old election worker suffered some "marks" on his face but no life-threatening injuries, Salazar said Friday. The sheriff said that Lutzenberger was arrested following the incident and taken to Bexar County jail. 

While speaking to reporters on Friday, Salazar used the time to “tone down the violence.” 

“Look, nothing here is worth going to jail for,” the sheriff said. “This election is going to happen one way or another in any particular race, one side is going to win, one side is going to lose. That's just the nature of things.” 

“But there's no sense in picking up a criminal case, picking up a criminal history, we're injuring or even killing somebody in the name of politics,” he continued. “It just doesn't make any sense.” 

The incident comes as this week's poll from Scripps News/Ipsos found that more than 6 in 10, 62 percent, Americans said violence after Election Day is "very likely" or "somewhat likely."