Student Claims To Be Assaulted On Light Rail For Wearing Trump Hat
By Jeff Todd
DENVER (CBS4) - A college student says he was verbally and physically assaulted on a light rail train because of his support for President Donald Trump.
"It's hard to ignore it when someone is in your face," said Alex Inscoe.
Inscoe says he had just left his internship and was dressed in a suit and a red "Make America Great Again" hat on Jan. 25. He was taking the W Line home when a woman began yelling at him.
"She hit my phone out of my hand. I was like, 'That's assault, that's assault, you can't do that.' And I went to bend over and pick it up and then she slugged me in the back of the head," Inscoe said.
Denver police are investigating the case but don't yet have suspect information to share publicly.
"Nobody should be treated like that no matter what. I was just trying to scroll my phone and ignore her and she kept getting in my face," he said.
Inscoe admits he's worn his hat for seven months and received snide comments but never experienced an escalated situation like what was seen on the busy train car.
Inscoe shared video he was given by another passenger with CBS4. The video shows verbal harassment but not the physical assault that Inscoe says resulted in a concussion.
"It should provoke debate. It's just frustrating. I'm trying to show my opinion and I should be able to wear a hat. I still get assaulted for it," Inscoe said.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
