A Canadian woman who allegedly slapped a teenager wearing Trump-branded clothing is reportedly in custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to local news sources in New Jersey.
Kaitlyn E. Tracey, 33, a Canadian reportedly married to an American named Matthew Geroni, allegedly recorded herself confronting a group of four teenaged girls on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk in New Jersey on July 3, according to court documents obtained by NJ.com.
Two of the girls were allegedly wearing sweatpants bearing the words “Trump” and “ICE,” the outlet reported.
A news release from the Point Beach Police Department states that on that evening “officers responded to and began investigating an alleged assault of a female juvenile by an adult female suspect on the boardwalk.”
It continues: “The female suspect began yelling at the female juvenile over patriotic colored sweatpants with political wording. The female suspect was then seen on video striking the juvenile female, once to the body and once to the face, with an open hand. The female suspect then left the scene without being identified.”
Police said they later identified her as Kaitlyn Tracey of Allenhurst, N.J., and that she was charged with simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, harassment and obstruction. There were no injuries reported.
“We would like to thank the Asbury Park Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, The 11th District of the Toronto Police Service, and the United States Custom and Border Protection Intelligence Team for their assistance during this investigation,” the release adds.
Toronto Police 11 Division serves an area of western Toronto centred on High Park.
Geroni took to social media with several posts begging for help. In one video posted Tuesday and recorded while driving he says: “I need an immigration lawyer, I need help. I don’t know what to do. I don’t have any money. I’m so fucking broke. But I got to figure something out. I got to save her.” He soon devolves into tears.
“Yesterday, July 13, my wife was detained by ICE and brought to Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey,” he says in a second post , asking local media to reach out to him. Delaney Hall is a detention facility run by ICE.
“My wife is a Canadian citizen and I’m an American citizen,” he adds. “We’ve been married for a little over three years, and I’m just doing anything I can to get her story heard and bring any help and attention to her situation so that I can get her released, even if that means back to Canada.”
Geroni said he created a GoFundMe page for his wife’s legal expenses but had to take it down after it was mass-reported by a “Facebook group of MAGA supporters.”
Tracey’s defence attorney, Francis R. Hodgson, told Asbury Park Press that after a court hearing on Monday, Tracey was ordered released from the Ocean County Jail where she had initially been held after her arrest. However, because ICE had a detainer on her, she was released to ICE custody.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 4, according to local news sources.
National Post has reached out to Hodgson, Toronto Police Services and Geroni for more information.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.
