A Texas man is facing a felony charge after he punched an employee of voting age who told him to take off his “Make America Great Again” hat while at an early voting location.

The incident occurred Thursday after the man, identified as Jesse Lutzenberger in the incident report, entered the Johnston Branch Library with what Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar believed to be his wife. That’s when the investigator first asked Lutzenberger to remove his hat, which the report confirmed was a red “MAGA” or Donald Trump baseball cap.

Salazar said during a shared news briefing Facebook on Friday that Lutzenberger complied and voted initially. But after that he put his hat back on while still in the building.

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The sheriff said the poll worker, who was not named in the report, then reminded Lutzenberger that it is illegal to wear anything related to a political candidate who is on the ballot while at a polling place under with the electoral laws and started escorting the suspect.

As the two headed for the exit, Salazar said security footage showed Lutzenberger appearing to “throw an arm back” at the 69-year-old employee, but it was unclear if that caused a connection. The sheriff said the victim then appeared to “push” the suspect, but then the suspect turned and threw “several” punches in the poll worker’s face.

Authorities were called to the library after the incident and took a report from the victim, which led them to follow Lutzenberger to a residence. Salazar said the suspect came out of the residence and said, “I’m the person you’re looking for.”

Lutzenberger, whom Salazar described as an “older man” in his early 60s, was taken downtown for questioning and booked on a third-degree felony charge of injury to an elderly person. The victim, Salazar said, has “marks” on his face, but they are not life-threatening.

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A Scripps News/Ipsos poll last week found that 62 percent of respondents say violence related to this election is “somewhat” or “very likely.” More than half even said they would support using the US military to prevent potential threats around Election Day.

While speaking to reporters, Salazar said he “couldn’t think of anything like this happening” during his time on the job and that he “definitely” doesn’t want to see another violent incident like this. He said he hopes the moment can serve as a reminder to Americans that violence, especially during election season, is unnecessary.

“Everybody’s going to survive, but I’m just using this as an opportunity to try to tone down what’s going on out there,” Salazar said. “Look, nothing here is worth getting hurt to go to jail for. This election will happen one way or another. In any given race, one side will win, one side will lose… But there’s no sense in giving up. a criminal record, amassing a criminal record, or injuring or even killing someone in the name of politics.”

Every state has some kind of law that prohibits political activity near active polling places, but Texas is one of 21 states that bans campaign clothing, according to National Conference of State Legislatures.

Specifically, the Texas Secretary of State’s website says “a person may not wear clothing or a similar communication device related to a candidate, measure or political party appearing on the ballot in the current election.” The site also states that the poll clerk may have the “authority of a district judge” while serving in that capacity to “use his discretion to ensure the safety and efficiency of the early and election day polling place and to the 100 people around. leg area.”