In a shocking video that has been viewed millions of times online, a man was seen punching a woman in the face in Brooklyn after he said her group threw some type of liquid on him.
Now the woman who was struck is sharing her side of the story with NBC New York, after the incident sparked outrage in the neighborhood and throughout the city.
The Park Slope attack was recorded on cellphone video, but the video does not show what happened before the punch itself.
“He was literally a tornado of violence,” Micah P., the woman who took the blow, exclusively told NBC New York.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. Saturday near the corner of Fifth Avenue and Third Street, hours after the annual Brooklyn Pride Parade ended. In the video, the man is seen throwing the punch that knocked Micah to the ground.
That man was identified by his employer as Jonathan Kaye, who works at the global investment banking firm Moelis. Kaye is said to live in the neighborhood.
After throwing the punch, Kaye walks away as he tells onlookers “she threw something all over me.” The back of his jacket appeared to be wet.
News
The 10-second video, which has been viewed 14 million times online, does not show what led up to the punch.
Micah told NBC New York the interaction started when Kaye walked by her group of friends outside a café as they waited for other friends after spending a day at the Pride Festival.
“We heard him say ‘what a bunch of useful idiots,’” said Micah. “He got about halfway down the block and I turned around and I said, ‘What did you say?’ He turned back around and just started rushing us… and as he’s coming at us, I had a bottle of water. I just splashed it, like get away from us, you know.”
Then the chaos broke out, according to Micah, who said Kaye shoved multiple people in the group.
“One of our other friends was like, ‘Get off of them!’ He jumps up runs after that person, they slipped out of their vest to get away and he fell down trying to chase them down,” Micah told News 4. “Fell face first on the concrete, scraping his ankle, jumping up. One person he shoved was like, ‘Are you OK?’ He jumps up, shoves another person. They hurt their arm and then he turns, and that’s the video you see him clock me.”
Micah P. was left with a broken nose.
NBC New York reached out to Kaye multiple times on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Moelis said “We are aware that one of our employees was involved in a serious incident in Brooklyn on June 8. We take this matter very seriously, and this employee is on leave as we continue to conduct our investigation.” The spokesperson confirmed that the employee their statement refers to is Kaye.
On Monday afternoon, News 4 received an email from an individual saying they are managing communications for Kaye, and referred to a Daily Mail article which described the group as the aggressors, that antisemitic slurs were used, that liquids were hurled at him and that Kaye left with a bloody ankle.
“There were no slurs whatsoever,” Micah said. “We didn’t get a chance to even get a read of him, he was enraged and terrifying, he was a big strange man who ran up on us started swinging almost immediately, there was no conversation.
The NYPD is aware of the video, but said it has no report on file regarding the incident. Micah P. said she does not have faith in the police department and does not plan on filing any report. She told NBC New York she doesn’t want Kaye to be arrested.
“I want this man to be held accountable for the harm he’s done on his community and on the members of my friend group. I want him to be a better person after this I want him to get anger management, therapy,” she said. “I want him to not be in a position of power until he’s able to be a better member of community.”
