Just weeks after Senate Democrats rejected an amendment from Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, to include political affiliation in Washington’s hate crime law, a violent incident at Washington State University (WSU) underscored exactly why those protections are needed.

House Bill 1052 was approved by the Legislature late last week, expanding the state’s hate crime statute, but without Fortunato’s proposed changes to protect people targeted for their political beliefs.

“This is exactly what I warned about,” Fortunato said. “A student of color was assaulted for wearing a MAGA hat, and yet our laws still don’t recognize political violence as hate. Democrats had the chance to fix that and chose not to.”

The February incident in Pullman involved WSU junior Jay Sani, a Republican and member of Turning Point USA, who says he was ambushed by a university instructor and staff member while wearing a red “Trump 2024: Take America Back” hat.

According to police reports and surveillance footage, political science instructor Patrick Mahoney allegedly snatched the hat from Sani’s head and punched him repeatedly while yelling profanities. Another WSU employee, Gerald Hoff, allegedly helped tackle and kick the student.

Both suspects admitted their roles to police. Mahoney, a self-described far-left activist, told officers he believed Sani “got what’s coming to him.”

Despite the overt political nature of the assault, Pullman Police concluded that it did not meet the state’s legal threshold for a hate crime, highlighting the gap Fortunato’s amendment aimed to close.

“Democrats passed a bill to broaden hate crime protections, but when I proposed adding political affiliation, they shut it down,” said Fortunato. “Now, a minority student gets attacked by two white adults over a political hat, and under current law, that’s not even considered a hate crime. It’s outrageous.”

Mahoney has since been suspended by the university, but Fortunato said the larger issue is the legal system’s failure to protect all Washingtonians equally.

“If we’re going to protect people from violence based on who they are or what they believe, then that must include political views,” Fortunato stated. “Otherwise, the law is just a political tool for the majority party.”

House Bill 1052, now headed to the governor’s desk, broadens hate crime offenses based on a perpetrator’s perception of a victim’s characteristics, but not their political beliefs.

“This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats,” Fortunato concluded. “It’s about whether someone can walk down the street in Washington wearing a campaign hat without getting attacked. Apparently, Senate Democrats don’t think that’s a right worth protecting.”