MAGA Hat-Stealing Student Undergoes Program to Avoid Jail Time

Former UC Riverside student Edith Macias will attend a judicial program instead of facing jail time for her decision to steal a “Make America Great Again” hat from one of her peers.

In late 2017, Breitbart News followed the story of student Edith Macias, who went viral on the internet for a video of her stealing a “Make America Great Again” hat from one of her classmates. Macias put on a scene at a campus office while student Matthew Vitale filmed her and politely asked her to return his hat.

In a statement to The College Fix, John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said that Macias will attend a judicial program that will allow her to avoid jail time. “The defendant pled guilty to one count of petty theft and was referred to our standard deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) program, which requires the completion of a class in exchange for a dismissal,” Hall said.

Hall added that the judicial program allows her to skip the eight anger management classes that she would have been otherwise required to take to avoid jail time. “Prior to agreeing to the DEJ program, the defendant provided proof that she has already completed eight anger-management classes and wrote an apology letter to the victim and UCR,” Hall explained.

Macias would have faced up to 10 days in jail if she had not opted for the judicial program. In a comment, Vitale said that he is happy with the outcome. “I’m happy with the agreement that Ms. Macias and her attorney reached with the DA’s office,” Vitale said. “I think it’s fair. I never set out to ruin her life. I simply wanted justice for the theft that happened to me.”

During the original exchange, Macias told Vitale that free speech is “genocide” and stated that she wanted to burn the hat. When asked by campus officials to return the hat to Vitale, Macias argued that universities were designed to only protect “white people.”

“Do you have any f***ing conscience?” she continues, before adding that “f***ing freedom of speech is genocide, homeboy.”

“I swear to God I could burn this sh*t. I swear to God I could burn this sh*t,” she adds.

“Are you people not going to do anything? She is stealing my property,” Vitale says, as university staff looks on silently.

“We will need to return his property to him, but we can talk about…” one university employee eventually interjects.

“How about we talk about not letting him wear this sh*t on campus?” Macias says.

“The fact that you people haven’t gotten this back for me is sad and wrong,” Vitale says at one point.

“Oh my God, you’re going to keep letting him wear it?” Macias says. “That just shows how the f— UCR is and the education system. It’s geared to benefit white people, white people, not me.”