A Republican operative in Arizona has alleged that security staff at an Arizona Cardinals game made Donald Trump supporters remove their MAGA hats before entering the stadium.
Alyssa Goncales, who works for Greater Phoenix Republican Women and conservative student group Turning Point USA, posted the allegation on X on Monday. It had been viewed 540,600 times by Tuesday morning.
The story was reposted by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a prominent Trump supporter, receiving an additional 300,300 views by Tuesday.
Goncales wrote: “A friend of friend went to the @AZCardinals game yesterday in her very tasteful black Make America Great Again hat. As she goes to enter the stadium a female security guard proceeds to stop her and tell her she can’t enter the stadium with her hat.”
A friend of friend went to the @AZCardinals game yesterday in her very tasteful black Make America Great Again hat. As she goes to enter the stadium a female security guard proceeds to stop her and tell her she can’t enter the stadium with her hat.
The security guard then… pic.twitter.com/5nLeYTKUgI
— Alyssa Goncales (@AlyssaGoncales) September 16, 2024
“The security guard then proceeded to get very confrontational and told her she wasn’t going to be allowed to go in no matter if she took it off or not. The only way she was allowed in was if the security guard watched her throw her hat in the trash! Disgusting!”
Newsweek contacted Turning Point USA, Phoenix Republican Women, and the Arizona Cardinals via email to independently verify the allegation but had not received any replies by time of publication.
Goncales further alleged that security told others to remove MAGA hats outside the stadium, posting two screenshots of messages containing similar stories.
In one screenshot, a user called “Double Barrel Durant, MBA” said one of the hat wearers was a man. “I was in the same security line as him and watched it happen. Staff was professional but told him there was no way he was getting inside with the hat.”
The Arizona Cardinals’ stadium in Phoenix Arizona, October 31, 2019, and inset, a MAGA hat. A Republican operative has alleged that security staff at an Arizona Cardinals game made Trump supporters remove their MAGA hats before entering the stadium.
Rick Scuteri, Anthony Behar/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Another of Goncales’ screenshots, with the username cropped out, showed the words: “Yes the one I saw was a guy! Probably a 30s slim white dude wearing a red MAGA hat with 45/47 on the side. Security stopped him through the metal detection area and told him the hat isn’t coming in.”
MAGA influencer Nick Adams, a self-described “Alpha Male” and America First Policy Institute ambassador, wrote on X: “The Arizona Cardinals banned attendees from wearing MAGA hats in their stadium. The NFL is a disgrace.”
The Arizona Cardinals are owned by Michael Bidwill, who has donated money to both Republican and Democratic candidates in 2024, according to independent money-tracking research group OpenSecrets, including $5,000 to Dave McCormick, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, $3,300 to Sam Brown, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada, and $500 to Yassamin Ansari, the Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District.
