'Make America Great' Hat Caused Trump Fan To Be Thrown From West Village Bar, Lawsuit Says

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A Donald Trump fan is suing a West Village bar because managers threw him out for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, according to legal papers. And he claims the eviction was discrimination against his "spiritual beliefs."

Greg Piatek was wearing the red hat donned by the president's supporters while drinking at The Happiest Hour bar in January. Piatek said he and two friends had visited the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum before stopping by the West Village bar at 121 W. 10th St.

Piatek claims that he and his friends were kicked out because he wouldn't remove the hat, which he says in his lawsuit is part of his religious beliefs.

Watch: 'Make America Great' Hat Caused Trump Fan To Be Thrown From West Village Bar, Lawsuit Says

The New York Daily News first reported on Piatek's claims on Sunday.

In court papers filed last week, Piatek amended his original complaint to say that he wasn't wearing Trump's campaign paraphernalia in support of the president, but rather as a "spiritual tribute" to the victims of 9/11.

The accountant was "adhering to his closely held spiritual beliefs by adorning the hat in question," the filings claim. His lawyer says that Piatek chose to wear the hat as a "spiritual expression" when he visited the memorial before stopping by the bar, and that because Trump had already been elected he "had no reason to wear the hat for any political purpose."

Piatek is suing the bar and its owner and claiming that he was asked to leave because of his red cap. In August, the bar produced photocopies of Piatek's bill, on which he left a 20 percent tip to show that he spent some time there and wasn't upset with service.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The Happiest Hour's attorney Preston Ricardo told The New York Daily News that Piatek's arguments are "entirely fanciful."

"There is zero case law to support them," Ricardo said. "This latest filing shows once again that this action is a publicity stunt in the guise of lawsuit."

Image credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon