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Student yanks MAGA hat off another's head, calls it ‘a racist and hateful symbol.’ Cops arrest her.
A student faces battery charges after taking a fellow student's "MAGA" hat and reportedly hitting the teacher. (Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot/TheBlaze composite)

Student yanks MAGA hat off another's head, calls it ‘a racist and hateful symbol.’ Cops arrest her.

A California high school student was arrested and may face battery charges after allegedly yanking off a fellow classmate's "Make America Great Again" hat while in class.

The student also reportedly struck a teacher in the melee.

What are the details?

According to KOVR-TV, the incident occurred  Monday at Union Mine High School in El Dorado, California.

Cellphone video shows a teacher attempting to break up a dispute over a student's MAGA hat.

The student, identified as 17-year-old Jo-Ann Butler, reportedly snatched the hat off of a male classmate's head, claiming that the hat was offensive.

"That's a racist and hateful symbol!" Butler said of the hat, the station reported.

According to the station, deputies say Butler slapped a teacher who was walking her out of the classroom to diffuse the situation.

What did the student say?

Butler spoke out and stuck by her decision to resort to violence over the hat.

"Maybe just wake people up in some type of way, because it's not cool the environment our classroom is in," Butler said, the station said.

Butler's father, however, said that his daughter didn't handle the situation the way he would have liked — but didn't deny that it was an important conversation to have.

“I don’t agree with grabbing someone’s hat and verbally talking to them in that way,” her father told the station. “But as far as the issue being brought up, maybe this is something that needs to be brought up.”

What did the school say?

A statement from the school, published by the station, read "... Student and staff safety is our highest priority and the UMHS administration will continue to cooperate with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office as the incident is being investigated."

Butler faces charges on two counts of battery in connection with the classroom incident. KOVR reported that the school suspended Butler for a week as a result of the incident.

Anything else?

MAGA hat-targeting seems to be all the rage since President Donald Trump took office.

For example, in 2017, several teens wearing MAGA gear to historically black Howard University were harassed and threatened, and one of their hats were taken, too.

In December, members of a College Republicans club were reportedly kicked out of a local coffee shop for donning MAGA hats.

In November, a student at the University of California, Riverside, was caught on video delivering a profane, 10-minute tirade after taking off another student’s MAGA hat.

In April, a male international tourist of New York City was mugged at knifepoint. The suspects reportedly made off with the man's hat.

In May, a black man was reportedly targeted by Cheesecake Factory employees who mocked and intimidated him for wearing a MAGA hat in the eatery.

In July, a Texas public school teacher was investigated after he reportedly took a teen's MAGA hat off and threw a drink in the teen's face.

Uber drivers have even gotten into the fray: in July, one of the company's drivers reportedly refused to transport congressional interns who were wearing their MAGA hats.

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