A Montana man was charged with assault after allegedly throwing a 13-year-old boy to the ground at a county fair because he believed the teenager was "disrespecting" the national anthem.

The Missoulian reports that Curt Brockway was arrested Saturday at the Mineral County Fair and Rodeo after he allegedly slammed the teenager to the ground when the 13-year-old didn't remove his hat when the anthem played.

A witness at the event told the news outlet that Brockway justified the alleged assault by saying the teenager was disrespecting the national anthem.

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"He said (the boy) was disrespecting the national anthem so he had every right to do that," Taylor Hennick told the news outlet.

Local CBS affiliate KPAX reported that witnesses said the boy did not remove his hat during the anthem, prompting the alleged assault.

Mineral County Sheriff Mike Boone said in a news release that Brockway was detained at the fair and is facing charges of assault on a minor, a felony in Montana.

Brockway was scheduled for release Tuesday morning, with his arraignment scheduled for next week.

The parents of the child said he was hospitalized and bleeding from his ear for hours after the incident that left him with temporal skull fractures.

He was released from the hospital and has since returned home to continue his recovery.