A woman on Cape Cod has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after assaulting a man who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Boston station WFXT reports that Rosie Santos, 41, of Falmouth, Mass., was charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery after a confrontation with a man at a Mexican restaurant last Friday.
The Boston Herald reports that Santos entered the United States as an immigrant from Brazil who has been living illegally in the U.S. since overstaying a tourist visa in 1994.
ICE spokesman John Mohan said in a statement, “(Rosiane) Santos is currently facing local charges for assault and other offenses. She is presently in ICE custody and has been entered into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts.”
Santos told police she was upset the man was wearing the hat inside a Mexican restaurant.
The man wearing the hat, 23-year-old Bryton Turner of Mashpee, Mass., told the station he pulled out his phone and started recording her after she confronted him at Casa Vallarta.
Turner claims he was minding his own business when Santos started yelling at him because of his hat, which bears the theme that President Donald Trump campaigned on during his 2016 presidential campaign.
When asked if Turner did anything to provoke Santos, bartender Geo Macarao said, “No, no he just walked in and ordered his food.”
When police showed up to the restaurant, the woman told them the man shouldn’t be allowed to eat in a Mexican restaurant. President Donald Trump is aiming to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
As Falmouth police officers were escorting Santos out of the restaurant, Macarao said she took another swipe at Turner as she left.
Santos said she regrets her actions, but claims that she was provoked.
In a statement sent to Boston 25 News, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) said:
“It’s unfortunate that ICE has taken Ms. Santos into custody before her case is adjudicated in the courts. ICE interference disrupts our justice system and denies both sides the resolution they deserve.
“As you can see in ICE’s own report, ICE arrests of people in Ms. Santos’ situation increased fivefold in the first two years of the Trump administration. That’s a disturbing trend and bad news for our justice system.”
Turner told the Herald he initially wanted to stay out of the media, but since has changed his mind.
“We can’t let these people scare us. We can’t let these people win when they assault people who don’t agree with them…. She’s obviously not very intelligent. She just sees a red hat and gets mad ‘cause it represents America, I guess.”
