A Jewish Oakland resident alleges he was ejected from a coffee shop for wearing a Star of David hat, sparking controversy and a police investigation.

Jonathan Hirsch claims the owner of Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland confronted him, demanding he leave due to his baseball cap. “This is (a) violent hat. You need to leave,” the owner reportedly said in a video Hirsch provided to NBC Bay Area.

Hirsch was playing chess with his five-year-old son when the incident occurred. He recounts, “He comes back with another guy who grabs me by the shoulder and puts his hand on my back…they tell me I’m trespassing, and I say I’m absolutely not trespassing.”

The altercation escalated, prompting other patrons to call the police. However, Hirsch felt the responding officers did little to defuse the situation.

“We then stepped further down the street, he followed us and continued berating us…and the cops kept acting the whole time like there was some mutual disagreement here,” Hirsch said.

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The Oakland Police Department confirmed officers responded to the scene and are investigating whether the incident qualifies as a hate crime. The coffee shop owner declined to comment on the matter.

Hirsch expressed disbelief that such an incident could occur in his hometown.

“I feel like in the 80s and 90s in America, this was kind of a laughable idea that kind of thing could happen here,” he said. “I don’t understand how the discourse has changed.”

Read more at NBC Bay Area