Bryton Turner/Facebook
FALMOUTH – The woman charged last week for allegedly attacking and harassing a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat at a Mexican restaurant in Falmouth has now been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and faces deportation proceedings.
“Deportation officers with ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Rosaine Santos, an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil, today near Falmouth, Massachusetts,” said ICE Spokesperson John Mohan in a statement to CapeCod.com.
“Santos is currently facing local charges for assault and other offenses,” the statement continued.
Later in the afternoon, an ICE official said Santos had been released and would face an immigration judge at a later date.
It was initially unclear how ICE became involved in the case. A spokesman for the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department said Santos was never brought to their facility after her arrest.
The sheriff’s department on Cape Cod has authorized deputy sheriffs who can check an inmates immigration status and report that information to ICE.
According to court documents, 41-year-old Rosaine Santos, is accused of first verbally assaulting 23-year-old Bryton Turner, then hitting him on the head for wearing a ‘MAGA’ hat inside the restaurant.
The alleged incident happened inside the Casa Vallarta Mexican restaurant on the night of February 15.
The MAGA hats are commonly associated with President Donald Trump.
The police report filed in Falmouth District Court indicates that when officers asked why she was bothering the man, she said he should not be allowed to eat in a Mexican restaurant.
“I asked Rosaine why she was behaving badly in the manner and she stated that Bryton was a (expletive) for supporting Trump. She also stated that he shouldn’t be allowed in a Mexican restaurant with that hat,” according the report filed by Falmouth Police Officer Newton Cardoso.
Turner had posted a video of the incident on his Facebook page, which has since received national attention. It shows Santos yelling at Turner and grabbing and pulling his hat off.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
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