A woman who was punched in the face by a billionaire investment banker at a Brooklyn Pride event has claimed her attacker launched a “storm of violence” and that the brutality was completely unprovoked.
The victim, who identified himself only as Micah P., said he was punched by Morris & Company managing director Jonathan Kaye on Saturday night, sending him falling to the ground in a Park Slope street and leaving him with a broken nose, in an incident that was caught on camera.
“He was literally a tornado of violence,” Mika told NBC4 on Tuesday, breaking her silence.
She alleged that Kay, who lives in an upscale neighborhood, instigated the attack and denied claims by sources close to Kay that Micah and friends were the first to hurl anti-Semitic slurs.
“There was nothing. There was no slander whatsoever,” she told the outlet.
“We didn’t even have time to check on him. He was furious and looked terrifying. He was a big, strange looking guy who ran up to us and started punching us straight away.”
Mika claimed the whole mess started when a stranger walked past her group outside a cafe near the corner of Fifth Avenue and Third Street and called them a “bunch of useful idiots.”
“When he got about halfway down the block, I turned around and said, ‘What did you say?’
“He turned around and started charging at us … and I had a bottle of water with me when he came towards us and I just splashed it, like, get away from us,” she said.
Mika alleges that Kay then pushed several people in her group, injuring them in the process.
“One of my other friends said, ‘Get away from them!’ He jumped up and went after him, but he took his vest off in an attempt to get away, so he tried to chase him and fell,” Micah said.
“He fell face-first on the concrete, scraped his ankle, and jumped up. One of the guys who shoved him said, ‘Are you OK?’ He jumped up and shoved the other guy, they hurt his arm, and then he turned around and you can see him on the video punching me.”
Footage of the incident does not show the moments leading up to the brutal beating, but can be seen afterwards showing a panicked Kay walking away from Mika with his jacket covered in liquid.
“She threw the f**k at me,” Kay can be heard saying, as others shout around her.
The 10-second video became an instant hit on social media, already garnering over 14 million views.
However, sources close to Mr Kaye previously insisted to The Washington Post that the violence occurred amid discussions over war between Israel and Gaza.
“They were marching and they had flags and Jonathan was just like, ‘You guys are on the wrong side,'” the source said, suggesting that Mika and her friends are members of an anti-Israel LGBTQ group.
“From there, about four of the group approached him, surrounded him and poured the red liquid over him,” the source claimed. “He tried to back away but was hit in the chest or fell to the ground, shattering his knee and cutting his leg.”
The source claimed Mr Kaye then got up and used only as much force as he needed to “get out of there”, noting he has no violent or criminal history.
This comes after Kaye’s New York-based investment bank confirmed it was investigating Saturday night’s violence.
“We have been made aware of a serious incident involving one of our employees in Brooklyn on June 8. We are taking this matter very seriously and are investigating,” a Moelis & Co. spokesperson told The Post.
Meanwhile, while police are aware of the existence of the footage, they have not filed a report on the incident.
Mika said she has no plans to file a police report and does not want the suspect to be arrested.
“I want him to be a better person after this. I want him to get anger management therapy,” she said. “I don’t want him in a position of power until he can be a better member of the community.”
