CHANNELVIEW, Texas – A Houston-area teacher is under investigation for comments he allegedly made on social media regarding the “Make America Great Again” hat theft incident that occurred in San Antonio last week.
The comments came from a Twitter account that allegedly belongs to Channelview Independent School District teacher Jogi Pattisapu.
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Pattisapu’s account is private, but screenshot images of the comments surfaced on Twitter and were brought to the attention of the district.
One of the comments posted on July 4 from the account made references to “Nazis” and referred to the San Antonio teen wearing the MAGA hat and the other teens sitting with him as “s***cake kids.”
LeKeisa LeBlanc, director of communications for the district, released this statement to KSAT:
“Mr. Pattisapu is a teacher in Channelview Independent School District. We are aware of the comments made on social media. The district is taking this matter seriously and we are conducting an investigation.”
Uhhhh why is Jogi Pattisapu, public school teacher at Anthony Aguirre Junior High, comparing a kid who supports Trump to a Nazi?
— [ＲＥＤＡＣＴＥＤ]リ茨す (@danirish) July 5, 2018
Also, why does he think it's OK for him to be assaulted and have his hat stolen? pic.twitter.com/kjR2nicO3u
The investigation and comments came after an incident at a San Antonio Whataburger location on July 4 made the rounds on social media.
Kino Jimenez, 30, was seen in the viral video throwing a drink at a teenager.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, there was a brief exchange of words between Jimenez and the victim before what's seen on video.
Police say Jimenez initially asked the 16-year-old why he was wearing the hat and the teen responded that he was supporting the president.
The affidavit says what happened next was caught on camera. The video shows Jimenez allegedly throw the soft drink at someone and then walk away with the hat, while also saying profanities at the person.
Jimenez was arrested a day later and charged with theft of a person.
Jimenez told KSAT off-camera that it was a lapse in judgment and uncharacteristic of him, but seeing the MAGA hat had the same effect on him that a Ku Klux Klan hood would have had.
Jimenez said he and his family have received threats since the viral video was posted.