A man dressed in a full Nazi uniform assaulted a University of Georgia student outside an Athens bar after being denied entry, authorities and school officials said Sunday.
NBC reports that incident occurred Thursday night outside Cutters Pub in downtown Athens, where the man, identified as Kenneth Leland Morgan, was kept from entering by patrons, according to a bar representative and video footage of the altercation.
“We are horrified by the actions of an individual who, while in downtown Athens wearing a Nazi uniform, assaulted a female University of Georgia student,” the university said in a statement. “The man is not a student and is not affiliated with the University. His actions, which were caught on videotape, are appalling, and we are grateful to Athens-Clarke County police officers for swiftly apprehending and arresting him.”
The victim, 23-year-old Grace Lang, said she recognized Morgan through mutual acquaintances. She told NBC News that two of her friends - one of whom is Jewish - first confronted him.
“She was mainly just telling him he needed to leave and needed to go home,” Lang said.
Video of the confrontation shows Morgan holding a beer mug and swinging it at a woman, appearing to strike her in the face and knocking her to the ground. Lang said she was hit after trying to grab the man’s swastika armband.
“He was just feeling very proud of himself for what he was wearing,” she said, adding that she received four stitches for facial cuts.
Athens-Clarke County jail records show Morgan, born in 1992, was booked early Friday on two misdemeanor counts of simple battery and one felony count of aggravated assault. He remained in custody as of Sunday. Jail records did not indicate whether he had an attorney.
The University of Georgia condemned the “heinous antisemitic behavior” and encouraged students affected by the incident to seek counseling services.