Man assaulted shopper in Upstate NY store for wearing Trump hat, police say

An Upstate New York man has been arrested for assaulting a supermarket shopper who was wearing a pro-Trump hat, according to police.

WHAM reports Robert Yott, 60, was arrested in the Steuben County village of Bath after allegedly punching a stranger in the mouth several times at a Tops supermarket on Friday. He broke the victim’s teeth and left their mouth bloody, the Bath Village Police Department said.

Yott initiated a confrontation with the victim “after becoming aggressive over the fact that the stranger was wearing a Trump 2024 hat,” police said.

Yott was charged with second-degree assault and criminal mischief as a result of the incident. He was being held pending arraignment, police said Friday.

No other details were released in what police described as a “random act of violence.”

Yott is a local author who has published two military history books, according to the Wellsville Sun. His political affiliation was not publicized, but the New York Post notes the village of Bath has twice as many registered Republican voters as Democratic voters, according to state records.

The victim’s name has not been released. It’s unclear if they required medical treatment or hospitalization.