Riverside Country District Attorney's Office filed a charge of grand theft against Edith Marcias: Snapshot

A university student who allegedly stole a cap bearing the message "Make America great again" from a Donald Trump supporter faces up to a year in prison.

Riverside Country District Attorney's Office has filed a charge of theft against University of California student Edith Macias, after she was allegedly filmed brandishing the red hat and condemning racism.

Ms Macias said the message on the hat represented genocide.

"Look at this — make America great again? It was never f****** great, never," she says in the footage captured by fellow student Matthew Vitale.

Mr Vitale, a member of the University of California Riverside Republicans, responded: "Then get out, honestly, if you don't like the country, get out."

When she said she was born in the US and had nowhere else to go, he said: "Go to Mexico, go to wherever the hell you want."

Mr Vitale pressed charges after the incident, which occurred on 27 September, saying Ms Macias stole his hat off his head during a campus meeting and refused to give it back.

He said he eventually retrieved the cap after Ms Macias gave it to university staff.

“I’m very excited that the DA’s [district attorney] office took it seriously,” Mr Vitale told Fox News. “We can’t thank UCPD enough.”

He accused the university of appearing not to believe the matter was important.

A statement released by the university said: “Federal privacy laws prevent the university from commenting on student conduct matters, but UC Riverside stands by its deep commitment to freedom of expression, civil discourse, and respectful interactions within our community.”