The millionaire investment banker who allegedly slugged a woman in the face at a Brooklyn Pride event last month turned himself in to cops on Monday.
Jonathan Kaye, 52, faces two counts each of assault and menacing in the third degree, misdemeanors, and one count of second-degree harassement, a violation, over the caught-on-camera attack that sent the victim crashing down on a Park Slope street back on June 8, the NYPD said.
His surrender came after the footage blew up online and leaflets with photos of him were plastered on utility poles throughout the ritzy Park Slope neighborhood where he lives with his family in a $4 million, four-bedroom townhouse.
Kaye, who was initially put on leave from his job as outrage mounted, resigned from the Manhattan-based Moelis& Co. investment bank last week.
He avoided eye contact and skirted questions from reporters as detectives walked him out the NYPD’s 78th Precinct in Prospect Heights just before noon, dressed in a blue polo shirt, beige cardigan, grey dress pants and wearing a navy mask over his face.
As he emerged from Brooklyn Criminal Court hours later, Kaye and his attorney were surrounded by four protesters who heckled the banker and followed him in the street, calling him a wife beater.
One clad in all black tried to shove Kaye from behind and ended up shoving his lawyer instead. The unknown assailants then got into a black van and sped away.
“He’s a law abiding man is a middle aged guy with zero history of violence. He was attacked by a group of violent protesters and defended himself to get home to his family. So, you know, we will be presenting more and more evidence to the DA that this was nothing more than self defense,” his attorney, Danya Perry, told The Post after Kaye’s arraignment.
The violence erupted June 8 when Kaye and members of an anti-Israel LGBTQ group clashed outside a café near the corner of Fifth Avenue and Third Street following the Pride event, according to police.
Sources close to Kaye insisted days later that he’d only acted in self-defense after the group surrounded him and tossed liquid on him.
Perry doubled down on Monday, saying Kaye had been “terrorized, assaulted, and surrounded by a group of unruly antisemitic protesters.”
“What the previously released video clip does not show is what another video and other evidence we have shared with the DA does show: that these agitators formed a ring at him, doused him with two unknown liquids, shoved him to the ground, and hurled antisemitic slurs at him,” the attorney said in a statement.
“Terrified and injured, Mr Kaye managed to act in self-defense to escape the situation and return safely to his family.”
The alleged victim, however, insisted Kaye instigated the attack and denied the claims that she and her friends had first hurled antisemitic slurs.
“He was literally a tornado of violence,” the woman, only identified as Micah P, told NBC4 last month.
“There was nothing — no slurs were said whatsoever,” she added. “We didn’t even get a chance to get a read of him. He was enraged and terrifying. He was a big, strange man who ran up on us and started swinging almost immediately.”
Micah, who claimed the chaos broke out after Kaye called them a “bunch of useful idiots,” copped to tossing water on the banker – but only after he allegedly rushed at them.
A 10-second clip of the ordeal, which doesn’t show the moments leading up to the brutal smackdown, captured a flustered Kaye allegedly walking away from Micah with his jacket covered in liquid.
“It’s good that he has been arrested and brought under some form of carceral control,” Ron Kuby, an attorney who reps the alleged victim, told The Post on Monday.
“No slurs were hurled. They didn’t know he was Jewish. They didn’t know he was a supporter of Israel — he just seemed like a random crazy man,” he added.
New video footage of the incident from a different perspective emerged Monday, showing the previously unseen moments leading up to the alleged assault.
In it, Kaye appears to be provoked and accosted by the group, who splash him with water and Gatorade before things get physical.
Kaye was released without bail at his arraignment.
“We are hopeful that the District Attorney will fully and fairly consider these facts, along with the surge of antisemitic acts, protests, and attacks that is ravaging our city,” his attorney said.
“We will aggressively fight injustice, and we look forward to a full vindication for our client.”
Kaye’s next court date is scheduled for Aug. 23.
Additional reporting by Desheania Andrews, Priscilla DeGregory and Chris Nesi
Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
