NY man mistaken for violent suspect, swarmed by cops because he wore a MAGA hat

A New York man’s “Make America Great Again” hat caused him to be mistakenly identified as the suspect in a violent crime Monday, WCBS-TV reported.

Harold Augustus, a supporter of President Donald Trump, was identified by some witnesses as a potential fugitive because he fit some aspects of the suspect’s description.

What happened?

Last Friday, a man wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat was seen on surveillance cameras punching a Hispanic man repeatedly and pushing him onto the tracks.

According to WCBS, the suspect allegedly made racist remarks toward the victim and followed him off the train before attacking him.

Police are still searching for the suspect, described as a black man with a dark complexion and heavyset build, last seen wearing a red “MAGA” hat with blue dungarees and a black, three-quarter length jacket and jewelry around his neck.

On Monday, some witnesses saw Augustus, also black, wearing his red “MAGA” hat and called police.

Augustus said he was getting a manicure when a large group of police officers showed up at the salon.

“It was very scary,” Augustus said to WCBS. “There had to have been over 20 cops. They came in and said ‘Do you have a red hat?’ I’m like, ‘yeah.’ So I showed it to them and they said, ‘that’s him.’”

What happened to Augustus?

After checking Augustus’ identification and making some phone calls, officers determined Augustus was not the suspect and apologized.

“I understood it was the hat,” Augustus said. “That’s what it really came down to, because is this rare? To see an African-American wearing a Trump hat? But you know, he’s our president, you gotta love him.”

To Augustus' point, black men who support Trump are relatively rare — only 13 percent of black men voted for Trump in 2016, with 82 percent voting for Hillary Clinton.