Footage of a lone woman being harassed and assaulted by a mob in Brooklyn has been going viral online. The victim claims she feared for her life after she was chased, shoved, kicked, spit at, and even had various objects thrown at her.
The incident occurred Thursday evening, around 10:30 pm after a far-right Israeli politician and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the U.S. last week. His presence led to clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and members of the local Orthodox Jewish community.
The protest turns nasty
The woman in the viral clip spoke to The Associated Press about the terrifying experience. She wished to remain anonymous but according to the outlet she is a resident of the neighbourhood in her 30s who learned of the protest after hearing helicopters above her apartment. She went to investigate around 10:30 pm although the protesters had mostly disbursed by that point. The woman covered her face with a scarf as she did not wish to be filmed. That was when things turned downright dangerous for her.
It seems the woman was mistaken for a pro-Palestinian protester due to the face covering. The video shows a huge mob chanting and making threats towards her. At numerous points things get physical with some men kicking her, throwing traffic cones at her, and pushing a shopping cart into her.
“As soon as I pulled up my scarf, a group of 100 men came over immediately and encircled me,” she explained to the AP. The mob seemed to be under the impression that she was one of the pro-Palestinian protesters and decided to swarm around the lone woman making disgusting threats and even physically assaulting her which can be seen and heard in the video.
“They were shouting at me, threatening to rape me, chanting ‘death to Arabs.’ I thought the police would protect me from the mob, but they did nothing to intervene.”
Even when police did step in things didn’t improve
Eventually one police officer did step in to try and defuse the situation, but against the massive crowd surrounding the woman he was practically powerless. Why there weren’t more officers there to do something is concerning.
The officer escorted the woman several blocks while they were followed and pushed by the mob until they eventually reached a police vehicle. At this point the crowd cheered as she was driven away.
The woman has reportedly been left with bruises and is incredibly shaken after the incident although she doesn’t believe that “anyone in any position of power really cares.” Police are reportedly investigating the incident and one person has been arrested with five others issued summons. However, it has not been confirmed whether any one related to the assault of the woman have been arrested so far.
Published: Apr 28, 2025 07:50 am