A black woman has accused the New York Mets of ‘racial discrimination and political retaliation’ after taking legal action over claims she was denied entry to a game because she was wearing a MAGA hat.
Queens Village Republican Club board member Aura Moody is seeking $2 million in damages after she was allegedly barred from entering 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 as soon as they passed through security and told they “had to take off” their hats and return to the car park before they could enter.
But Moody, 64, says that when he entered the stadium after returning the hat to his car, there were white members of his group still wearing MAGA hats and other clothing.
The social worker and mother of two was at the game with eight other members of the Queens Village Republican Club, located in the deep blue city of New York, which claims to be the oldest Republican club in the United States.
Queens Village Republican Club board member Aura Moody was reportedly banned from entering Citi Field in August because she was wearing a MAGA hat
Aura, seen at Citi Field, accused the Mets of ‘racial discrimination and political retaliation’
“I told them I had First Amendment rights,” Moody said. “They told me it was political and I told them they couldn’t do that.”
According to the New York PostMoody filed a lawsuit earlier this month in Brooklyn Federal Court.
She has accused the baseball club of “racial discrimination, political retaliation and reputational damage.”
Moody added that the incident violated his right to freedom of expression and caused him “emotional distress.”
“This country is supposed to be a beacon of freedom for all,” he said.
Court documents show Moody offered to take off the hat and put it in her bag, but security dismissed the idea because she could have put it on upon entering.
Moody claims she “knew she was being racially targeted and politically retaliated against for being a black woman wearing a MAGA hat.” After demanding to speak to a security supervisor, she was told that was the club’s “policy.”
In a Facebook In a post related to the incident, a friend of Moody’s said he was shocked by the decision and shared it on social media.
“Guys, I honestly don’t care if you guys, despite Donald Trump, are NOT about that!” the post read.
“Is this the America you want to live in?”
Moody, pictured with former Republican New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, was reportedly banned from the stadium because her hat was too “political.”
Moody says white members of his group were allowed to wear MAGA hats and other items.
Spectators reacted with outrage following Moody’s alleged ejection from Citi Field after it was shared by journalist Miranda Devinewith a question: “Do they send people back to their car if they’re wearing a (Kamala) Harris t-shirt?”
Others called the move “ridiculous” and urged Moody, who has not returned to Citi Field since, to investigate whether his rights were violated.
Moody had already made a name for himself on the New York political scene, even leading a march through the streets of Manhattan to protest COVID-19 vaccines.
According to the Facebook In a post about the incident, Moody was a New York teacher who lost her job after refusing to get vaccinated.
In a video shared with X, she was seen marching with a small group of anti-vaccine protesters last year, while raging against “unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandates.”
Moody’s group also appeared to be involved in mobilizing Trump supporters earlier this year, when the former president held an unprecedented event in the Bronx.
Mets spokeswoman Nancy Elder told the Post they have no comment on the lawsuit.