Washington State U. punishes instructor, staffer charged with beating up Trump-supporting student of color wearing MAGA hat

Washington State University said it fired a staff member and relieved a graduate student instructor of teaching responsibilities after they were charged with physically attacking an undergraduate student of color who supports President Donald Trump and was wearing a Make American Great Again hat when he was assaulted.

According to a video report from Turning Point USA’s Frontlines, WSU junior engineering student Jay Sani said WSU instructor Patrick Mahoney and staff member Gerald Hoff ambushed and physically attacked him outside of the Coug, a campus bar, on Feb. 28. The attack was captured on surveillance video and is included in the Frontlines video report, which you can view here.

In a Facebook post describing the attack, Sani said Mahoney ‘crumpled’ up his MAGA hat and ‘threw it into the street, and yelled … words to the effect of “go get it bitch.”‘

Phil Weiler, WSU’s vice president for marketing and communications, sent Blaze News the following statement Friday:

Washington State University (WSU) is aware of an off-campus incident that occurred in February involving a WSU staff member, graduate student, and undergraduate student. After an investigation by the Pullman, Washington, police department, the WSU staff member and graduate student were arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault. In accordance with WSU policies, the staff member’s employment was terminated, and the graduate student was relieved of all teaching responsibilities.

While WSU remains committed to the freedom of speech and expression for all members of our university community, it will not tolerate acts of violence or hate speech. The university continues to review all complaints with the utmost of seriousness.

Sani said he was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat at the time of the attack and that Mahoney “ripped the hat off my head.” In a Facebook post describing the attack, Sani said Mahoney “crumpled” up his MAGA hat and “threw it into the street, and yelled … words to the effect of ‘go get it bitch.'”

Sani said he threw his food at Mahoney’s face but that Mahoney and Hoff ganged up on him, saying Mahoney “grabbed my chest and slammed it on the concrete as I was falling” and “punched me a bunch of times on the back” and that Hoff “kicked me a bunch of times too.”

The Frontlines report includes images of Sani’s “multiple scrapes and bruises” resulting from the two-on-one beatdown.

The video report also shows Pullman police catching up with Mahoney and Hoff on bodycam video timestamped in the early morning hours of March 1, not long after the attack.

“I seen this guy f**king on campus before,” Mahoney says on police bodycam video in reference to Sani. “I know he’s, like, [a] f**king right-wing dude.”

Mahoney also tells police, “I, like, grabbed his hat, threw it, and said, like, ‘Go get it.'” Hoff admits to police that “we did grab him and bring him to the ground.”

However, Mahoney is heard actually telling cops that he didn’t hit Sani and that “I don’t think I did f**king something illegal, right?”

A voice — presumably an officer — is heard saying on the bodycam clip that “it’s unwanted touching,” after which Mahoney says, “It’s unwanted touching. I don’t know what that is, right?”

Mahoney adds on the bodycam clip that Sani “wanted to fight” and “f**king got what was coming to him, right?”

You can view the complete police bodycam video here of officers interviewing and arresting Mahoney.

The Frontlines video report said Mahoney is a WSU graduate student and instructor who teaches a freshman-level political science class — and is a “notorious far-left activist who hates conservative values and is a regular at pro-Hamas protests in the city.”

Mahoney also “has strong ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, progressive pro-labor groups, and is someone who publicly touts his admiration for the communist party,” the video report adds, citing Sani. The video also points out a hammer and sickle pin seen on Mahoney’s jacket lapel in his WSU headshot:

Patrick MahoneyPatrick Mahoney (Image source: Washington State University website)

In reference to Sani’s skin color, he added in his Facebook post, “To make it clear, I hate to say this, but I’m brown, but forget it. I’m an engineering student that wants to get the degree and move on. So what if I like someone that you don’t like. We have the 1st Amendment, and it’s not okay that just because you don’t like that person, I should be attacked for it. You had a chance in November to oust [Trump], but you didn’t.”

A Frontlines reporter knocked on Mahoney’s door to inquire if he wanted to comment on the assault, but he replied, “No, go away,” from behind the closed door.

The Frontlines video report added that “we were unable to reach Hoff to get his side of the story, but found his LinkedIn account indicating that he’s employed at WSU. Again, the school would not comment on Hoff’s status, either.”

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