Subway Shover In MAGA Hat Convicted Of Hate Crimes: Manhattan DA

UNION SQUARE, NY — A man wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat who made racist statements towards two Latino men and shoved one of them onto the train tracks was convicted for hate crimes, the Manhattan District Attorney said Thursday.

Willie Ames, 49, was found guilty of hate crimes and aggravated harassment Thursday following an attack at the Union Square subway station last April, DA Cy Vance's office said.

"This defendant’s crime was more than a violation of our laws — it was a violation of our New York values," Vance said in a statement. "As a jury has now determined, Willie Ames targeted two New Yorkers on the basis of their heritage in a vicious assault fueled by hatred and prejudice. Now, he will be held accountable for this unprovoked and potentially deadly hate crime assault."

Last April, Ames made derogatory remarks about Mexican-Americans towards two men in their twenties. He dragged one man off a train at Union Square by his clothes, shoving him onto the train tracks.

Ames yelled racist remarks at the men, saying, "You guys come here to take jobs and you bring drugs. ... you people are dirty, you people are nasty," according to a criminal complaint.

He hit the second man and fled. The man shoved onto the tracks had to have his head closed shut with staples, authorities said at the time.

U.S. Marshals apprehended Ames six days later on April 26. He was indicted by the end of May 2018.

Last week, Ames testified he was wearing the Trump-affiliated hat as a joke and claimed he was harassed by the men for his MAGA headgear, which is why he lashed out, the New York Daily News reported.

"A sense of humor. ... Just a black person wearing it," said Ames, who reportedly collected caps, as reported by the News. "I just wanted to see how people [were] gonna respond to it."

His lawyer, Glenn Hardy, told jurors, "Willie thought it was a joke. ... He's never been to a Trump rally. He's never been to a Make America Great Again rally," the News reported.

"This was a difficult case," Hardy told Patch. "While it was an unfortunate alteration I don’t believe there was hate. History has proved us plenty of examples but this did not rise to that. My client has complete confidence in the legal system and his attorney and will appeal."

Ames, of Brooklyn, was convicted of assault as hate crimes and aggravated harassment, the DA said Thursday.

Ames is expected to be sentenced July 12.

The DA encouraged victims of hate crimes to contact the DA's Hate Crimes hotline at 212-335-3100.