Aura Moody, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, alleges that she was barred from entering the New York Mets' Citi Field due to her "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) hat, an incident she has termed as "political discrimination."
In an interview with the New York Post, Moody recounted the incident, stating that she and her friend Taisha, both donning MAGA hats, were stopped after passing the security checkpoint. They were informed by a stadium employee that their hats were deemed "too political" for the venue. The two women, who are board members of the Queens Village Republican Club, were then instructed to return their hats to their car, as they were not permitted to carry them in their bags.
"The United States of America is no longer the vehicle of freedom and tolerance," Moody lamented to the New York Post. "I am living under a communist regime where our freedoms are trampled upon.that was the first thought that came to my mind."
According to the New York Post, Moody and her friend had arrived separately from other members of the Republican club. The New York Republican expressed her belief that if she had been wearing a hat endorsing President Joe Biden or the Black Lives Matter movement, she would have been allowed entry without any issue.
"We are conservative people, we believe in tolerance," Moody stated. "If I was wearing a BLM, Biden, Harris hat, they would have let me go through."
Upon returning their MAGA hats to the car and gaining entry to the stadium, Moody and her friend noticed that "at least eight" other members of their group were wearing similar hats inside the venue. "When I got into the venue, I did see at least eight MAGA hats," Moody confirmed.
A friend of Moody's, Christopher Joseph, took to Facebook to express his outrage over the incident. He questioned whether this was the kind of America people wanted to live in, emphasizing that the issue was not about personal feelings towards Donald Trump, but about freedom of expression.
Moody, who was previously terminated from her teaching position in New York City for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, has labeled the incident as "political discrimination." She reportedly attempted to file several complaints with stadium employees.
As reported by the New York Post, the Mets issued a statement acknowledging that the employee had been "mistaken" about the stadium's attire policy. The team stated that it was "reaching out" to apologize to Moody and invite her back to the ballpark.
"A Mets employee was mistaken about our attire policy," the team admitted. "We are reaching out to Aura Moody to apologize and invite her back to the ballpark."
While the Mets' response may seem like a step towards resolution, it does little to quell the concerns of conservative individuals like Moody, who feel their freedom of expression is being stifled.
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