Woman harassed 74-year-old man for wearing MAGA hat in Starbucks: 'Get the f*** out of my town'

A California accountant’s attempt to shame an elderly Trump supporter backfired.

On Monday, Palo Alto local Rebecca Parker Mankey told her followers on Facebook that she reamed out a 74-year-old man, reportedly named Victor F., at Starbucks for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.

“Anybody in Palo Alto knows this freak,” Mankey wrote alongside photos of the man. “He was sitting in Starbucks. I think he lives in Palo Alto. He will never forget me and will think seriously about wearing that hat in my town ever again. If you see him in this hat, please confront him. You do not want to be the person who didn’t speak up as we slipped into fascism.”

She continued, “I yelled at him. Called the entire Starbucks to order and yelled at him more about how it is not ok to hate brown people. He threatened to call the cops. I left after yelling at him some more.”

After her lunch break, Mankey said she returned to Starbucks. “I went back in and yelled that I had changed my mind and wanted him to call the police because I wanted to know his name, where he lived, his wife’s name, and where his kids went to school,” she wrote.

Mankey said she followed Victor outside yelling to “Get the f*** out of my town and never come back.”

“It is the duty of every white person in America to stand up to this every time they see it,” wrote Mankey. “Don’t be the person who does nothing to protect our brothers and sisters from this hatred. It is not OK.”

According to KPIX CBS, Mankey pledged to “publicly shame” the man and “try to get him fired,” writing, “I am going to go to his house and march up and down carrying a sign that says he hates black people. I am going to organize protests where he works to make him feel as unsafe as he made every brown person he met today.”

A deleted Facebook comment from Rebecca Parker Mankey of Palo Alto, vowed to ruin a man’s life because he wore a MAGA hat in Starbucks. (Screenshot: KPIX CBS)
A deleted Facebook comment from Rebecca Parker Mankey of Palo Alto, vowed to ruin a man’s life because he wore a MAGA hat in Starbucks. (Screenshot: KPIX CBS)

A woman named Amy of the Twitter account “Right Hook USA” tweeted Tuesday, “Parker Mankey is doxxing an old man on Facebook because he wore a MAGA hat in public.” Amy called Mankey’s husband’s boss “to show them the violence their employees’ wife is promoting.”

Amy tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “I was extremely disturbed when I learned that an elderly man was being humiliated and harassed in public by a vicious bully. I was even more saddened to learn that this gentle old Jewish man has been a pillar in the Palo Alto community for over forty years. I hope and pray that this incident leads to greater tolerance and respect among all Americans, instead of greater hatred and rage.”

Worried someone would hurt the elderly man, Amy called the Palo Alto Police Department. A police spokesperson tells Yahoo Lifestyle there is no incident report on file because a victim has not come forward.

A woman named Rebecca Parker Mankey admitted to harassing an elder man wearing a MAGA hat in Starbucks. (Screenshot: Parker Mankey/Facebook; Right Hook USA/Twitter)
A woman named Rebecca Parker Mankey admitted to harassing an elder man wearing a MAGA hat in Starbucks. (Screenshot: Parker Mankey/Facebook; Right Hook USA/Twitter)

On Wednesday, Victor told KPIX CBS, “This crazy woman came over and started raving at me. She turned to the rest of Starbucks and said, ‘Hey everybody, here’s this racist over here. He hates brown people, he’s crazy, he’s a Nazi,’ and so forth.” Victor wears a yarmulke under his MAGA hat.

Mankey and her husband closed down their Facebook pages. On Tuesday, Gryphon Stringed Instruments, where Mankey worked as an accountant, wrote, “We would like to make it clear that we do not condone harassment or hate speech of any kind. We are currently addressing the matter internally. Thank you for your concern.”

Later, the store added, “The employee in question has been terminated. Gryphon does not believe anyone should be harassed or subject to hate speech no matter their beliefs. Music has historically been something that has brought people of diverse socio-political backgrounds together.”

On Tuesday, an organization called Bayshore Progressive Democrats, reportedly co-chaired by Mankey, said she and her family were getting death threats. “Parker felt strongly that she wanted to use her privilege as a white woman to stand up for those who are living in fear because of the hateful atmosphere fostered by Trump,” read a website statement. “Unfortunately, the manner in which she chose to stand up against a slogan that stands for racism led to an even stronger hateful response that has endangered her and her family.”

Mankey resigned from the organization the next day. “Earlier today, the officers of the Bayshore Progressive Democrats (BPD) received and accepted Parker Mankey’s resignation as co-chair, officer, and member of our organization,” according to another statement. “From the standpoint of BPD, this matter is now closed. Bayshore Progressive Democrats seeks a world that works for everyone, where all humans have a chance to realize their full potential and to live lives of dignity. Harassment and abuse are inconsistent with these values, and we reject the use of such tactics in civil society.”

A Starbucks representative tells Yahoo Lifestyle that employees at the California Avenue location weren’t aware of the incident until both Mankey and Victor left.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.