Man in MAGA hat gets booted from a soccer game. Conservatives are calling it political persecution
A Trump supporter is crying foul after being removed from a St. Louis City SC game for wearing a MAGA hat, claiming he's the victim of political persecution. The moment was caught on camera by the man himself, Michael Weitzel, and has since gone viral with over 4.8 million views, sparking a familiar online debate about political double standards and performative outrage.
The fan says he was targeted for his views, but stadium officials say the rule is apolitical.
Supporters of President Donald Trump and other Republicans have, in the past, decried any semblance of politics entering the realm of sports. Some readers may recall their outrage at the sight of athletes kneeling in support of police brutality victims during the Black Lives Matter era.
By August 2, 2025, they were demanding to see more political messages in stadiums.
"A man got kicked out of a @stlCITYsc game last night for wearing a MAGA hat," wrote former American Conservative Union (ACU) executive director Gregg Keller in the viral post.
"Security said they don’t allow political paraphernalia. Man then asked security what’s up with the constant Pride flags and trans banners at the games. They didn’t like that either."
That's not exactly what Weitzel asked. About 20 seconds into the footage, he points to a group of flags waving in the official club seats, as they always do, to ask why those are okay. The officer informs him that they're pre-approved.
It's hard to tell from the blurry video, but we don't see any Pride flags. If we did, it would be irrelevant, because queer people existing isn't "political."
Either way, Weitzel made full use of this opportunity to act like he was being oppressed even as the lead security guard told him that he is also a Trump supporter. It's the stadium itself that has a rule against political messages. Multiple guards escorted Weitzel out of the Major League Soccer game, eliciting a few boos, though it's unclear what those bystanders were objecting to.
"So that's what happens if you wear a Donald Trump hat to a St. Louis City Soccer Club game," he concluded.
Right-wing pundits slam the removal, ignoring their own calls to "keep politics out of sports."
Trump supporters are spending almost as much energy demanding justice for this man who broke stadium rules as they do supporting the deportation of anyone who ever broke U.S. border rules. Keller even claimed that the Justice Department is on the case.
"Can confirm this video is now being looked at by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice," he posted less than two hours after the original.
One Missouri congressman, meanwhile, seems to think that the St. Louis SC should hire security for the whole city.
"So in St. Louis this year, there were 66 murders, 67 kidnappings, 28 rapes, and 1,335 aggravated assaults," wrote @BobOnderMO. "But there were four security personnel here to forcibly evict a peaceful soccer fan wearing a MAGA hat. Is the message that you do not want us in the city of St. Louis?"
While that happened, the left had the usual ineffective declarations of hypocrisy ready to go.
"What happened to keeping politics out of our sports?" asked @RealSTLChatter. "The same people bitching about this are the ones who were mad at Kaepernick for kneeling. But know you’re mad these sports leagues have put in rules for this? Bunch of hypocrites."
Others are getting wise to the grift cycle.
"Total jacka** gets the exact reaction he was going for wearing his stupid red hat," said @ChuckPasadena. "Don’t tell me he didn’t know it would start some sh*t."
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