UC Riverside student Edith Macias has reportedly been charged with one misdemeanor count of grand theft for a September incident in which she allegedly stole a MAGA hat from one of her peers.
A video of Macias allegedly stealing a MAGA hat went viral on social media in September. In a video that was originally posted to Facebook, Macias allegedly removed the hat from student Matthew Vitale’s head and took it to the campus student life office.
“UCR is letting people wear this shit on campus? Make American Great Again, really? There were lynchings and genocide and mass deportations. … I f*cking hate this country. … And I am not leaving. … We need to get rid of all ya’ll,” Macias says in the video.
“F*ck your freedom of speech boy, your freedom of speech is literally killing a lot of people out there, your hats like these that promote laws and legislation that literally kill and murder people of color,” she added.
According to a document provided to The College Fix by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Macias has been charged with one misdemeanor count of grand theft. Her next scheduled court date will take place in March 2018. According to a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, Macias could face up to one year in county jail.
Vitale told The College Fix that he is satisfied with the DA office’s decision to charge Macias. He praised the “professionalism” of the University of California Police Department but lamented that UC Riverside likely let Macias off with no punishment. “I’m very pleased that the DA decided to charge her, especially because I am skeptical that UCR student conduct did anything. I will be following up with the student conduct office to determine if anything was done,” he said.
Vitale went on to explain that the charges against Macias should serve as a message to college students around the country as to what conduct is acceptable with regards to political discourse.