A  paralysed former U.S. Army veteran in uniform was assaulted by a Marine in a pink tutu who thought he was pretending to be a wounded soldier in Halloween costume.

Daniel Priotti, 35, who served in the U.S. Army between 1996 and 1998, was left in a wheelchair 10 years ago after an unrelated accident.

But each year as part of his Halloween celebrations, the Florida man wears his army uniform.

He was waiting in line at a restaurant in Gainesville at 2.20am on Thursday morning when he was hit twice, knocking him out of his wheelchair.

His attacker has been named as Christopher Dabney, 22, a Marine veteran who was dressed in the  tutu as his Halloween costume.

It is believed that Dabney attacked Priotti, because he thought his uniform and wheelchair were fake and thought his Halloween costume was offensive.

‘[Dabney] should be stripped of being allowed to be called a Marine,’ Priotti told the Gainesville Sun. ‘This is not something a Marine does - they have more self control.’

The veteran says that if Dabney was offended, he should have tried to talk to him.