The New York City Police Department arrested a 42-year-old man for assault during a protest in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Tuesday night when a 61-year-old man was attacked.
The demonstration began around 5:30 p.m. at 3614 14th Avenue and ended about 9 p.m., the NYPD told JNS. The address that the police department provided is in a heavily Jewish neighborhood, across the street from a synagogue, Jewish school and Judaica store.
“During the demonstration, police were informed by a 61-year-old male victim that he was punched in the face, with a closed fist, by an unknown male,” the NYPD stated. “The unknown male was taken into custody on the scene.”
Emergency medical services treated the victim on-site “for minor injuries to the face,” the NYPD told JNS. It added that Anthony Frausto, 42, of Brooklyn, was arrested for third-degree assault at around 7:40 p.m. (Third-degree assault in New York State is a class ‘A’ misdemeanor, which carries a prison sentence of up to one year.)
“Last night we saw protesters in Borough Park targeting Jewish New Yorkers with hateful rhetoric and antisemitic chants. This is unacceptable,” stated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. “We are grateful to the NYPD for their diligent work keeping all New Yorkers safe.” (At press time, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, had not commented publicly.)
“It should come as a shock to no one that the pro-Hamas mob targeting Jews and promising to ‘flood’ Borough Park has descended into violence,” stated Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). “Violence is not a bug but a feature of the so-called ‘free Palestine’ movement, which has no desire to free Palestinians from Hamas.”
