Trump Supporter Hoyt Hutchinson Charged With Slashing ‘Baby Trump’ Balloon At Alabama-LSU Game

Baby Trump, the parody balloon of an obese child version of President Donald Trump in white diapers tweeting on a toilet, was paraded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on November 9 before the Alabama-LSU game on Nov. 9.

However, the balloon was slashed at 1 p.m. in the afternoon allegedly by 32-year-old Hoyt Hutchinson. Trump supporter Hutchinson tried to run away after committing the prank. Police officers saw him sever the balloon and was arrested by the police promptly. Officers charged him with criminal mischief in the first degree. The arrest was reported by the Tuscaloosa Police Department on their Facebook page.

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The Baby Trump balloon was previously deployed in London last year during Trump’s state visit.

The inflatable balloon is 20 feet tall and 13 feet wide. The protesters originally planned to use it as a blimp flying overhead during a football match between the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It was supposed to float in the sky while the match took place.

https://www.facebook.com/TuscaloosaPoliceDepartment/photos/a.394271903922750/3138237349526178/?type=3&theater

Before cutting the colossal balloon, Hutchinson took to social media on November 9 and announced in a Facebook Live Video, “I am going down here to make a scene, so y’all watch the news.”

While in Tuscaloosa County Jail, Hutchinson watched the football game’s third quarter and crowdsourced his way to pay for his $2,500 bond. He set up a “GoFundMe” account to raise money for his legal fees. The account’s name was “Restitutions for Baby Trump Stabber.”

Hutchinson was successful in raising $20,000 by the morning of November 10. The page said, “Hoyt made sure our beloved President didn’t have to see this disrespectful balloon on the streets of Ttown today.”

A different GoFundMe campaign called, “Get Baby Trump To Tuscaloosa” was started to bring the balloon to the game. It drew more than $7,000 to have the balloon at the protest. Organizers of this campaign said that it took $4,000 to bring the balloon, anchor and staff it.

Article by Rajeet Guha