A Black woman is accusing the New York Mets of “racial discrimination and political retaliation” after filing a lawsuit over claims she was denied entry to a game for wearing a MAGA hat.
Queens Village Republican Club board member Aura Moody is seeking $2 million in damages after allegedly being banned from playing at Citi Field until she removed her cap in August.
She told DailyMail.com at the time that she and a friend, Taisha, were stopped by staff once they got through security and told to “take off” their hats and go back to the car park before being allowed inside.
But Moody, 64, claims that when she entered the stadium after taking her hat to her car, there were white members of her group still wearing MAGA hats and other clothing.
The social worker and mother of two attended the game with eight other members of the Queens Village Republican Club, located in deep-blue New York City and claiming to be America’s oldest Republican club.
Queens Village Republican Club board member Aura Moody was reportedly denied entry to Citi Field in August for wearing a MAGA hat
Aura, seen at Citi Field, accused the Mets of ‘racial discrimination and political retaliation’
“I told them I have First Amendment rights!” Moody said. “They said it was political, and I said you can’t do that!”
According to the New York PostMoody filed a lawsuit earlier this month in federal court in Brooklyn.
She accuses the baseball club of “racial discrimination, political retaliation and reputational damage.”
Moody added that the incident violated her right to freedom of expression and caused “emotional distress.”
“This country should be a beacon of freedom for all,” she said.
Court documents show that Moody offered to take off the hat and put it in her purse, but security rejected the idea because she could have already put the hat on when she entered.
Moody claims she “knew she was being racially and politically attacked for being a black woman wearing a MAGA hat.” After demanding to speak to a security supervisor, she was told it was the club’s “policy.”
In a Facebook In a post about the incident, a friend of Moody’s said he was stunned by the decision and shared it on social media.
“People, I really don’t give a damn if you, despite Donald Trump, are NOT about this!” the message read.
“Is this the America you want to live in?”
Moody, pictured with former Republican candidate for New York City mayor Curtis Sliwa, was reportedly banned from the stadium because her hat was too “political”
Moody claims that white members of her group were allowed to wear MAGA hats and other items
Viewers reacted outraged to Moody’s alleged eviction from Citi Field after it was journalist Miranda Devinewhere one of them asked the question, “Do they send people back to their cars if they’re wearing a (Kamala) Harris shirt?”
Others called the action “ridiculous” and urged Moody, who has not been to Citi Field since, to investigate whether her rights were violated.
Moody has previously made a name for himself in New York politics, including leading a march through the streets of Manhattan to protest COVID-19 vaccines.
According to the Facebook A report about the incident mentioned Moody, a New York teacher who lost her job after refusing to get vaccinated.
Footage shared with X showed her marching with a small group of anti-vaccination protesters last year, while she was furious about “unconstitutional COVID vaccination mandates.”
Moody’s group also appeared to be involved in mobilizing Trump supporters earlier this year, when the former president hosted an unprecedented event in the Bronx.
Mets spokeswoman Nancy Elder told the Post they have no comment on the lawsuit.