During the argument last week, Yankowski, who is white, shouted a racial slur at the motorist, who has been described as a black man.

That verbal exchange led to a physical confrontation, which left the 62-year-old Trump supporter with minor injuries, authorities say. An investigation is ongoing, police spokesman Ralph Marotti told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

The encounter occurred the evening of Aug. 3 in New Jersey, police said. Yankowski said he was walking down a street when a motorist started talking about the shirt in support of the Republican presidential nominee.

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The driver allegedly followed Yankowski inside a Friendly’s restaurant, where the verbal argument escalated.

“Called me ‘white trash,’ cursed me out, gave me the finger, whatever,” Yankowski told News 12 New Jersey, describing a portion of the interaction. “I yelled back a few expletives.”

Yankowski also admitted that he used a racial slur during the encounter, saying: “Yes, I did.”

A witness relayed what Yankowski had said, telling News 12 New Jersey: “The white man, of course, he shouted out, he goes, like, ‘you’re a n—–, you’re not even supposed to be here. This is like, white people’s spot.’

The argument eventually spilled into the Friendly’s parking lot, where the encounter grew physical.

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Marotti, the police spokesman, said the suspect had “what appeared to be a crowbar, some type of metal object,” and swung it at Yankowski.

Yankowski was hit in the forearm, hands and thighs, Marotti said, and was treated at the scene.

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The suspect fled before police arrived.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday.

Tensions have escalated as the presidential campaign has progressed, both at political rallies and, occasionally, during interactions between supporters of opposing candidates.

In March, a Trump supporter was charged with assault after he was caught on video sucker-punching a protester at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C.

That same month, a protester was struck at a Trump rally in Arizona, an incident also captured on video.

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Trump is known for his massive, raucous rallies — part campaign events, part media spectacles, part populist exaltations for his most loyal supporters. But the events have also become suffused with the kind of hostility and even violence that are unknown to modern presidential campaigns.

Supporters have clashed outside those rallies, as well. A tow truck driver refused service to a Bernie Sanders supporter stranded in North Carolina this year, allegedly telling her: “I can’t tow you, you’re a Bernie supporter.” And in Colorado, a landlord advertised a vacant apartment but indicated that he wouldn’t rent to Trump voters.

Those incidents, however, were not physical in nature.