Officials in New Hampshire arrested and charged a man with assaulting three people, including a teen wearing a “Make America Great Again,” hat at a polling location during the New Hampshire primary this week.
The suspect, 34-year-old Patrick Bradley, confronted the teen after he exited the polls inside Windham High School around 6:12 p.m. on Tuesday, said police. He was walking near a campaign tent for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, they told NBC10.
When he passed by the tent, he slapped a 15-year-old wearing the “MAGA” hat across the face before assaulting two other adults, police said. He also is accused of throwing Trump campaign signs and attempting to knock the tent over, according to the station.
A woman who claimed to be the teen’s mother told Fox News her son is “pretty traumatized” after the incident. “This guy lives in our town,” Cathy Campbell said. “It’s pretty unnerving.”
“My son was standing outside on the sidewalk, and he said ‘have a nice night,’ he said it to everyone. But this man was triggered,” she added to the network. The man then allegedly cursed at the teen and “wound up his hand as fast as he could and slapped him across the face,” Campbell told Fox.
Donald Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter about the alleged incident, saying he had met the boy prior to the assault. He added that he called his family following the incident.
“I thanked them for being such strong supporters,” the younger Trump wrote, adding: “My family has your back.”
Bradley faces three misdemeanor counts of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct, said police, according to the reports. He was taken to Rockingham County Jail and is now being held on $5,000 bail. Officials said he also violated his probation.
It’s not clear if he has an attorney.
The incident comes just days after a man was arrested after driving his vehicle into a tent full of supporters of Trump in Florida.
Gregory Timm, 27, told police that he drove at the volunteers in Duval County on Sunday because of his disdain for Trump, adding that he went to buy cigarettes and food at a nearby Walmart before noticing a Trump campaign tent in the parking lot. He showed a video to police that allegedly shows the attempted assault.
“The suspect was upset that the video ended before ‘the good part,’ as he described it,” a police officer wrote in a report. “The suspect advised that he does not like President Trump and that is part of [redacted].”
The alleged assault drew a response from Trump himself, who highlighted the incident in a re-posted tweet from GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with!” Trump wrote.
