Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

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Joel
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Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

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Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

The Philadelphia accountant suing a West Village bar for allegedly denying him service over his "Make America Great Again" hat is now arguing that he is a member of a "protected class," and likening his support for the MAGA creed to a religious belief.

Citing an "expansive definition of creed," an attorney for plaintiff Greg Piatek filed court papers last week claiming he was "adhering to his closely held spiritual beliefs by adorning the hat in question." Those spiritual beliefs "entirely transcend the political realm," the suit claims, and are supposedly loosely related to the 30-year-old tourist's sympathy for the victims of 9/11.

That sympathy, and his choice to express it through the president's preferred hat, qualifies Piatek as "a member of a protected class…[who] was discriminated against on account of his membership in that class." The suit references the court's previous recognition of non-traditional creeds, like the refusal of anti-vaccination parents to inoculate their children, as precedence for Piatek's claim.

"A religious belief can appear to every other member of the human race preposterous," the memo acknowledges, "yet still be entitled to protection."

In the initial suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court in March, Piatek alleges that he was snubbed and insulted for wearing the hat to The Happiest Hour in the West Village this past January. In his retelling, Piatek was called a "terrible person" by one bartender, and was eventually removed from the bar by a bouncer, at the manager's request.

He says that he called the police afterward, but was informed by two NYPD officers—described by the plaintiff as "sympathetic, accepting, and understanding"—that the matter was not criminal in nature.

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Meanwhile, the attorney for the West Village bar, Preston Ricardo, says that Piatek made the whole thing up. In August, the defense produced receipts showing that Piatek left a $36 tip on his $182 tab—evidence that would seem to conflict with the plaintiff's claim that it was "the most discriminatory, humiliating and 'Saddest Hour' of his life." In response, Piatek's attorney argued that he has "such a good heart that he’s going to tip no matter” how he is treated.

The defense is currently attempting to get the case tossed, prompting this most recent argument about religious-like persecution. (Piatek's representation did not respond to a request for comment).

"The plaintiff's vague and conclusory arguments are entirely fanciful," Ricardo told Gothamist. "They have no support in the law. And they continue to show that the action is nothing more than an ill-conceived publicity stunt guised as a lawsuit."

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Joel
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Re: Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

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Judge: Bars are allowed to throw out Trump supporters

A Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday that there’s nothing “outrageous” about throwing the president’s supporters out of bars — because the law doesn’t protect against political discrimination.

Philadelphia accountant Greg Piatek, 31, was bounced from a West Village watering hole in January 2017, just after Trump took the oath of office, for wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, according to his lawsuit over the incident.

“Anyone who supports Trump — or believes in what you believe — is not welcome here! And you need to leave right now because we won’t serve you!” Piatek claims the staff of The Happiest Hour on West 10th Street told him after he and his pals complained about the rude service they were getting from a bartender.

So he sued in Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming the incident “offended his sense of being American.”

But on Wednesday, when the bar’s lawyer, Elizabeth Conway, pointed out that only religious, and not political, beliefs are protected under state and city discrimination laws, saying, “supporting Trump is not a religion” — Piatek pivoted.

“The purpose of the hat is that he wore it because he was visiting the 9/11 Memorial,” his attorney Paul Liggieri told Justice David Cohen in court Wednesday.

“He was paying spiritual tribute to the victims of 9/11. The Make American Great Again hat was part of his spiritual belief,” Liggieri claimed. Piatek and his pals had, in fact, visited the memorial before the bar.

“Rather than remove his hat, instead he held true to his spiritual belief and was forced from the bar,” Liggieri said.

When the judge asked how the bar employees were supposed to be aware of Piatek’s unusual religious beliefs, Liggieri answered, “They were aware he was wearing the hat.”

The judge pressed Liggieri on the idea of his client’s professed creed.

“How many members are in this spiritual program that your client is engaged in?” the judge asked.

“Your honor, we don’t allege the amount of individuals,” Liggieri said.

“So, it’s a creed of one?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Liggieri replied.

After nearly an hour of argument the judge took a short break and then returned to the bench with his ruling.

“Plaintiff does not state any faith-based principle to which the hat relates,” Cohen said in tossing the case.

Piatek had sued for unspecified emotional damages, but the judge said the incident amounted to nothing more than a “petty” slight.

“Here the claim that plaintiff was not served and eventually escorted out of the bar because of his perceived support for President Trump is not outrageous conduct,” the judge ruled.

Liggieri said he plans to review the decision to determine whether or not to appeal.

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h_p
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Re: Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

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He should have just sat at a table and told the owner he's waiting for a friend. No way they would have been able to kick him out without a huge uproar across the country, and a mass retraining of all their employees.

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Joel
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Re: Trump Supporter Suing West Village Bar Demands Religious Recognition For MAGA Hat

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Ideally I would want to nullify protected classes altogether.

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Joel
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Manager tells man he needs to remove his MAGA hat | What Would You Do? | WWYD

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