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Police arrested a Trump supporter after they say he beat three people near Dupont Circle after a “heated political argument.”
The man was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, which sparked the interaction that’s now being investigated as a hate crime.
A woman and two men told police that 32-year-old Louis Travieso, of Riverview Florida, attacked them outside of a restaurant on New Hampshire Avenue around 6:30 p.m., according a report from the Metropolitan Police Department. Multiple witnesses also told police that Travieso initiated the brawl.
“We were all bleeding,” the woman told NBC4. “When the police came to the scene, it was very obvious. They immediately placed him in handcuffs. There was there no question. My nose had blood coming out of it.”
She said that her husband and friend were the other two victims and they both had black eyes. She said the Florida man also tore her husband’s ear.
Police arrested Travieso on three counts of felony assault with significant bodily injury. The police report listed the incident as a suspected hate crime based on “anti-political” motivation.
He appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to three simple assault charges, according to William Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
The interaction began inside of the Grillfish restaurant when one of the three victims commented aloud on the man’s red hat, and an argument ensued.
After the conversation subsided, Travieso left the restaurant and got into an Uber with his family, according to court documents. But he got out of the vehicle at a stop light to engage with the victims again.
Police say he straddled one man and pounded him in the face about 20 times. The other two victims tried to stop him, but Travieso punched them as well.
“He goes, ‘You got a problem with me?’ My friend said, ‘No, but I have a problem with your politics,” the woman told NBC4. “He just came out, basically, just with his fists swinging, and he immediately hit my husband and got him down pretty quick, and I tried to intervene and stop him and he punched me in the face.”
The woman and one of the men were treated at a hospital; the third victim was treated on the scene.
Travieso told NBC4 that the altercation was “terrifying” and he acted in self-defense. He’s expected to appear in court again on September 18.