A man wearing a MAGA hat has reportedly been arrested after hurling the N-word at a New York woman, a police source says.
The suspect also allegedly tried to set the 54-year-old Black woman on fire during the heated exchange. The incident was recorded by a second suspect, who was wielding a selfie stick and accompanying the person in the MAGA hat.
The two men involved, the man on camera and the man recording, have been named as 33-year-old Michael James and 31-year-old Michael Santiago.
NYPD Crime Stoppers said in a statement that the exchange unfolded in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City around 2.50 pm on February 19. The suspects involved had been harassing numerous pedestrians, police have said.
Video of the incident was uploaded to a social media account named ScrubsNYC before being reshared more widely. After the clip went viral, the two men uploaded a video showing them reading a New York Post article about the incident.
In the clip, the man in the “Make America Great Again” hat makes numerous highly sexually suggestive comments to the woman. While making one remark, he refers to her by the N-word.
“I want to f*** a slave, be my slave,” he says, while leaning towards her.
“I will never,” she replies.
Moments later, he asks to kiss her boots.
“Of course, then do it,” the woman responds. “Kiss my boots.”
As the man kneels, the woman brandishes her cell phone and appears to start recording the suspect.
“Back up,” she adds. “First of all, you will back up.”
Then the man in the MAGA hat leans down, pulls out a lighter, and tries to light her $89 boots on fire.
A small flame appears on her shoe before quickly going out. After that, he asks to kiss her once again.
“I just burned your shoe,” he says, before hurling the N-word at her once more. “I just burned your boot, now what?”
“Of course you did,” the woman replies. “I would never kiss you and I’m never sorry.”
The pair continues to exchange insults, with the video ending as the woman walks away.
The incident was later reported to the 10th Precinct, which passed the case over to the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.
Both men had been apprehended by Thursday morning, the source claimed, after the NYPD released their images on Wednesday evening.
Numerous comments under the NYPD CrimeStoppers post identified one of the suspect’s social media handles.
The two men face charges of assault and criminal mischief, both of which are classified as hate crimes. They also face charges of aggravated harassment, assault, misdemeanor, menacing, criminal mischief, arson, and criminal tampering.
ScrubsNYC, the account allegedly responsible for uploading the video, has profiles on several social media platforms, including Instagram, X, and YouTube. All of the accounts have a meager number of followers.
Each account has a hammer and sickle for a profile picture and a bio that reads, “IRL as modern ART – Arte Povera.”
Arte Povera is an Italian avant-garde movement of the 1960s and 1970s centered on transforming cheap materials into expensive works of art.
The Independent has contacted the NYPD for comment.
