A New Jersey man dressed as President Donald Trump stole a Pride flag from outside of a local donut shop, further upsetting the store's owners by then performing the Sieg Heil and threatening to burn the shop down.
Holmdel resident Maciej Wojciak, 61, has been arrested and charged with numerous crimes after he terrorized Main Street Donuts on Saturday afternoon while dressed as Trump, ripping the Pride flag off of the front of the LGBTQ+ owned business.
Wojciak then proceeded to perform "simulated sexual acts in the roadway" and levy threats against the store owners, saying he would burn down their shop.
Main Street Donuts is owned by married couple Joe Rizzuto and Rick Canero. The store was opened in 2022.
"I was in the back and an employee said someone just took the flag," Rizzuto said during an interview with Asbury Park Press on Sunday. "I ran out and saw him across the street parked and yelling. He was dressed like Trump, with a MAGA hat and a wig."
Wojciak took the flag from a pole at the front of the shop, entering a brief struggle with Rizzuto before obtaining the flag and driving away as Rizzuto took note of his license number.
"Then he came back, stopped in front, rolled down his window and started threatening to burn down the building before driving away," Rizzuto said. "But he returned again and started blocking traffic."
Police chased the man down the street and arrested him. He was detained and charged with bias intimidation, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
He was then booked into Monmouth County Correctional Institution after being processed at Matawan Police Headquarters.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw him," said Ava Steele, the donut shop employee who first spotted Wojciak. "He just stopped at the door, looked at me, opened his arms and tore the flag off the pole."
"I will not stay quiet," Rizzuto said. "In 54 years as a gay man I have never had a hate crime occur until these."
Originally published on Latin Times
