Kino Jimenez, who is accused of attacking a teen wearing a MAGA hat at a San Antonio area Whataburger restaurant, has been banned from the Texas Green Party as a result, Heavy learned in an exclusive interview with a top Green Party official.
In the interview, Gavino Zarate, secretary of the Harris County Green Party, who said he was speaking for the state party as a whole on the issue, condemned the incident, which was captured in a viral video that shows a man later identified as Kino Jimenez allegedly tossing a drink on a 16-year-old boy named Hunter Richard, using a racial slur, and then walking off with the teen’s MAGA hat.
“We all have different opinions of our president, but we don’t take it out on innocent kids who just happen to have a hat on,” Zarate told Heavy in an exclusive interview. “You may not like the hat or you may not like the president, but you don’t show that kind of aggression toward teenagers. It goes against everything the Green Party stands for. We are not violent. We do not take our aggression out on innocent young people.” The man’s full name is Kino Ahuitzotl Jimenez.
“We are handling it in house. From our point of view, he is banned from being part of our organization,” said Zarate. You can watch the video later in this article. Be aware that it contains a racial slur and is disturbing. San Antonio police have confirmed the boy, identified by local TV as Hunter Richard, and his guardian made a report on the incident. “Police said a suspect is in custody, but the victim, Hunter, will need to meet with them to positively identify the person,” News4 San Antonio reported.
Jail records show that Jimenez was arrested and booked into the jail on the evening of July 5, 2018. According to San Antonio police, “This evening detectives assigned to the Robbery Task Force were able to locate the suspect in the ‘Whataburger’ incident. Warrant #1653732 was issued for the suspect Kino Jimenez 30 years (Sid# 905396). The aforementioned warrant is for Theft of Person. Kino Jimenez was located in Universal City, Texas. Universal City police officers took Mr Jimenez into custody without incident.”
This is the new mugshot of Jimenez, according to Bexar County.
MugshotKino Jimenez July 2018 mugshot
Here’s what you need to know:
The Green Party Kicked Jimenez Out Because Its Official Says the Actions in the Video Counter Its Ideals
A screenshot of the Green Party web page before it was deleted naming Kino Jimenez.
According to Zarate, he removed Jimenez from the party’s website (see above before the removal), and Jimenez is now kicked out of the party, after the Green Party learned about the video. “What Kino has (allegedly) done out of his own will, he has really shed a negative light on our party,” he said, adding that the party is now receiving hate calls. “He preyed upon two or three young people,” he alleged. “I removed him. It’s very disturbing.”
In contrast, says Zarate, the Green Party has very different ideals. “We stand for diversity. We stand for being green as far as our environment. We are a non-violent peaceful group and we advocate for all sorts of ideals and we are pro feminism but the one thing we are not, we are not about violent acts. We are definitely against those things,” said Zarate.
He said Jimenez was “just another member,” and not a leader, adding that the Green Party has 50,000 or so members in Texas. It bothered Zarate also that the person attacked in the video was a youth. “It doesn’t matter what the hat says. It’s just a hat. People wear shirts we find offensive, and we don’t like it, but we definitely don’t attack some young kid. By the looks of it they were just teenagers,” said Zarate, who added, “If he wants to take a hat off an adult go ahead and try, but the results will be a little different.”
Bexar County Central RecordsKino Jimenez 2017 mugshot
Asked his position on President Trump, Zarate offered a nuanced view and said he supports some things the president does and opposes other things the president does. You can read more of his comments on that – as well as what he thinks about Sarah Sanders and the Red Hen – later in this article.
First, a little more information on the MAGA hat incident that sparked all of it and the response of other organizations affiliated with Kino Jimenez.
Rumble, a San Antonio Bar, Says It Fired the Man
FacebookKino Jimenez.
In addition to the action by the Green Party, Kino Jimenez was fired by Rumble, a San Antonio bar, which wrote that its employee’s alleged actions “go against everything that this establishment stands for.” After the establishment’s comment thread started filling up with remarks about the MAGA incident, Rumble deleted its Facebook page.
The bar posted the statement on Facebook after the video went viral.
InstagramKino Jimenez.
In the statement before deleting its page, Rumble wrote that the man seen in the viral video was a part-time employee.
“It came to our attention earlier this evening that a part-time employee was captured on cell phone video assaulting another person at a local eatery. The assault took place, presumably, because this employee did not agree with the other individuals political stance,” the bar wrote.
“We have since terminated this employee, as his actions go against everything that this establishment stands for. Rumble has, and always will be, a bar that is as inclusive as any establishment could possibly be. THIS BAR IS A SAFE SPACE FOR EVERYONE! No matter your race, creed, ethnicity, sexual identity, and political stance, you are welcomed here! We do not condone the actions or behavior that were displayed in the cell phone video, and we never will. If you have any questions or concerns please message us privately. We support and appreciate your business.”
Whataburger condemned the incident but said in a statement that the man in it was not a Whataburger employee.
It reads, “We were shocked to see this video and certainly don’t condone this type of customer behavior in our restaurants. To be clear, no Whataburger employees were involved or witnessed the incident, and we ask that questions be directed to San Antonio PD as we continue supporting their efforts.”
Kino Jimenez has deleted various social media accounts but before he did he wrote on his page that he worked at the San Antonio bar. He wrote in his profile’s “About” section, “thug life.” On Instagram, he described himself as, “Jedi-Knight Musician Spaceman.”
His YouTube page is still online. The page contains a video of his mother shooting a gun along with videos of his music and one video that criticizes Trump for a press conference after a GOP debate in 2016. “This is classic Trump talking nonsense making no senese [sic] of any kind. ‘Yea hillary shes a politcal [sic] person’ he is no President!” he wrote. In 2016, he posted a video of a Trump pinata being destroyed. Jimenez recorded the video in June 2016 at an anti-Trump rally in San Antonio. He wrote in the caption, #F*ckTrump.
The Teenager Says He Was Attacked While Dining
GettyA Make America Great Again hat
Hunter Richard, the 16-year-old teenager from Texas, says he was attacked at the Whataburger restaurant because he was wearing a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat.
The teen’s mother originally shared the video on Facebook, writing, “Please help ID this ‘Scum BAG of the Year!’ My son and his friends were eating at Whataburger on Thousand Oaks last night. His friend was wearing a Patriotic Hat and this happened! It would be nice to know who he is for someone to let him know his actions are not ok! Real tough guy… approaches a group of teenagers minding their own business just having a burger! He kept his hat too! Scum bag!”
According to KENS5, the video has been viewed more than 2 million times since the teen’s mother, Patricia Spittler, posted it. The family lives in San Antonio, Texas.
News4 San Antonio’s Joe Galli reports that the incident is under investigation by police and a police report was filed. According to the television station, which spoke exclusively to the teen, “Hunter said some of his hair was pulled during the assault.”
San Antonio Police have confirmed to Heavy that a police report was filed by the victim and a guardian in the case who was with them, at 6:27 PM on July 4. No arrest has been made and no warrant issued.
In the video, the edited version of which you can watch above and a more graphic unedited version of which you can watch below, the man now named as Kino Jimenez throws a drink and walks off with a red MAGA hat. The television station reports that Richard says the man took his hat.
In the unedited version, the man who throws the drink also uses a racial slur against the teenage boys who are sitting at a table in the fast-food restaurant (specifically the “N” word). Be aware that the video is disturbing.
“I support my President and if you don’t let’s have a conversation about it instead of ripping my hat off. I just think a conversation about politics is more productive for the entire whole rather than taking my hat and yelling subjective words to me,” the teen told the television station’s Galli.
Conflicting reports then emerged about what provoked the incident, but the original news source itself expressed later concern about the legitimacy of the most incendiary claim. A friend who was with Richard when the incident happened tweeted, “an article was released saying someone who was in the restaurant (even tho the only ones in the restaurant was my group and the guy who confronted us’s group.) said that we had provoked the man with racial slurs and much worse things, which never happened.” The teen, who tweets under the handle Brax, then wrote, “said I wouldn’t comment anymore but they pulled the article lmao.” He also wrote, “this article was pulled due to “concerns about the legitimacy of the statements.”
The article by KENS 5 was updated to remove the most incendiary quotes, and now reads, “Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included quotes from the alleged witness. Those have been removed from this copy due to concerns about the legitimacy of the statements.” The KENS 5 article notes, “KENS 5 was not able to independently verify the witness statements.” A story by WFMY, a sister station of KENS 5 that repeated the claims has been deleted. Some news outlets have linked to the now deleted WFMY story without updating their stories to explain it was deleted. In an interview with a Texas news outlet, Kino Jimenez did not allege any racial comments were made, although he said that seeing the MAGA hat was the equivalent to him of seeing a KKK hood.
The Red Hen Took a Difference Stance But Zarate Thinks the Country Needs More Dialogue Among People of Different Views
GettySarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen Lexington.
There have been other incidents involving MAGA hats and Trump supporters in recent months. An employee at a Vancouver restaurant was fired after he was accused of asking a customer to remove a MAGA hat if he wanted to be served. That incident came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being asked to leave a Lexington, Virginia restaurant where she was dining with members of her family. Other people who work for Trump, such as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have been confronted in restaurants in recent weeks. You can watch video of the Nielsen confrontation here.
Brandon Straka, who started the WalkAway Campaign urging people to leave liberalism, says he was denied service while trying to buy a camera by one employee there (but not another).
In April 2018, a New York judge dismissed a lawsuit from a man who says he was denied service at a bar in that state because he was wearing a MAGA hat, which the bar denies. In addition, Democratic Rep. Maxine Water is under fire for urging people to confront Trump supporters wherever they see them.
What does Zarate think about all of that?
“I think we need to have a conversation, open dialogue with people,” he said. Of Sanders and the Red Hen, he added, “She is just out with her family eating. I don’t think we should say well because she’s a Republican, she can’t come to our establishment, which is really bad for business in a long run. I think we should have a conversation. We just need to have conversations.”
What does he think of Trump? He said on immigration and the people crossing the border: “Other countries don’t handle them as humane as we do. I don’t believe they’re caged up. We had a bishop go down to the valley, and he said it’s not the ideal conditions but they’re not being mistreated.”
Trump, he said, “He is our president, whether I agree or disagree, like or dislike him. I don’t support him in every issue, but I also have to look at how is he thinking, what is he trying to do. For example, meeting with the Russian president and the Korean president, we need to figure out how is it we can have open dialogue with these people because they are very radical, and we need to bring them to the table and have open dialogue with them. He has that fortitude. He has that aggressive style to him. I like that.”
However, there are other things about the president that he doesn’t like. “I don’t like how he talks and as you know half the country thinks he’s racist, the other half doesn’t. I don’t like how he tears down people. I think there’s got to be a better way instead of saying these ugly things.”
You can read about the Vancouver incident here:
