Deputies investigate reported attack on pro-Trump merchandise booth in Encinitas

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a report that a man vandalized a pro-President Trump pop-up kiosk and fought with the man selling the merchandise Friday evening, Oct. 9, in Encinitas.

(File photo)

According to investigators, a man came and “tore down” the pop-up display, which had Trump 2020 gear for sale, just before 5 p.m. The kiosk was set up on the outskirts of the Encinitas Ranch Town Center mall on Leucadia Boulevard between El Camino Real and Garden View Road.

The man allegedly tore down a tent or shade and flipped over a table, sparking a fight with the vendor, sheriff’s Lt. Pat McEvoy said Friday night, Oct. 9.

Photos posted on social media showed two folding tables flipped over and what appeared to be a canopy-style pop-up shade on the ground alongside a flagpole with pro-Trump banners that was knocked down.

“They got into an altercation,” McEvoy said. “The guy that trashed the pop-up then got up and ran off.”

The man who was at the booth selling the merchandise sustained minor injuries and was evaluated by medics at the scene, but did not require medical treatment, McEvoy said.

Sheriff’s deputies responded and took a report, and are investigating the incident as suspected misdemeanor battery and vandalism, McEvoy said.

The lieutenant said crimes potentially motivated by politics do not meet the standard for a hate crime, but there are extra steps investigators must take, including reporting suspected politically-motivated incidents to federal authorities for monitoring.

— Alex Riggins is a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune