Dramatic new footage has revealed the moment New York investment banker Jonathan Kaye was attacked by a group of revellers who hurled anti-Semitic slurs at him, for the first time since he was charged with punching a woman during the altercation last month.
Kaye, 52, now former CEO of Moelis & Company, made headlines in early June after a viral video showed him throwing a powerful punch at a woman celebrating at the Brooklyn Pride Parade on June 8.
The millionaire banker reportedly resigned from his well-paid job last week after being placed on leave while his firm investigated the incident.
Now, DailyMail.com can reveal that Kaye was arrested on Monday morning after voluntarily turning himself in to police in Brooklyn, where he has been charged with second and third degree assault.
This comes after sources close to the financier gave their side of the story in the wake of last month’s controversy, claiming the altercation had developed after a group of four female supporters of ‘Queers for Palestine’ allegedly began taunting the Jewish financier and throwing liquids at him as he left a nearby restaurant that evening.
Now, previously unseen footage obtained by DailyMail.com offers a new perspective on the events leading up to the confrontation, showing the moment the two sides pass each other on the street in the Park Slope neighbourhood of Brooklyn, before getting into a heated physical confrontation.
New footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows the moment billionaire investment banker Jonathan Kaye first meets a group of Pride parade-goers as he walks alongside them on a Brooklyn street corner on June 8.
Kaye, 52, continues walking down the sidewalk where she meets another member of the group (red arrow) and the two exchange words.
It is not known what the two said to each other, but the exchange was enough to make Kaye turn around and approach the group. The bankers’ lawyers claimed the group had hurled anti-Semitic insults at him.
The confrontation quickly turns aggressive and violent, as the group gangs up on Kaye and pushes him out into the street.
CCTV footage, captured by a nearby restaurant, shows Kaye emerging from the right-hand side of the pavement, where the group of revellers appear to be hanging out on the corner.
The two parties appear to exchange words as Kaye walks past, but he continues walking, before looking back at the group after they allegedly begin hurling insults and slurs at each other.
As he continues down the sidewalk, he passes someone who appears to be returning to the same group of friends on the corner, and they also exchange words.
It is not known exactly what was said, but it was apparently provocative enough to cause Kaye to stop, turn around and approach the group.
The confrontation quickly turns chaotic and physical, and Kaye is seen surrounded and then pushed into the street, off-screen, drawing the attention of nearby onlookers.
After the altercation unfolds off-camera, he reappears in the frame seconds later and continues his walk down the sidewalk.
Last month, sources told DailyMail.com that Kaye, who is Jewish, had told the group they were “on the wrong side”, prompting the women to gang up on him.
Now, DailyMail.com understands that Kaye turned around and returned to confront the group after hearing the anti-Semitic abuse directed at him.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Kaye’s legal representative Danya Perry, of Perry Law, said: ‘Mr Kaye, a middle-aged Jewish man with no history of violence or assault, was terrorised, assaulted and surrounded by a group of unruly anti-Semitic protesters.
At one point, Kaye is seen reacting as he is pushed, just seconds after approaching them.
‘What the previously published video clip does not show is what another video and other evidence we have shared with the Prosecutor’s Office do show: that these rioters formed a circle around him, sprayed him with two unknown liquids, pushed him to the ground and hurled anti-Semitic insults at him.
‘Terrified and injured, Mr. Kaye was able to act in self-defense to escape the situation and return safely to his family. We are hopeful that the District Attorney will fully and fairly consider these facts, along with the rise of anti-Semitic acts, protests and attacks plaguing our city. We will aggressively fight injustice and look forward to a full defense for our client.’
Kaye was recorded throwing a powerful punch at the unnamed woman during a Pride parade in Brooklyn on June 8, and has since turned himself in on assault charges.
As DailyMail.com previously reported, people close to the 52-year-old banker claimed the viral clip did not capture the full confrontation, which they say began when the group started hurling anti-Semitic slurs at Kate, who is Jewish.
Kaye is said to have told the group they were “on the wrong side,” prompting the women to gang up on him, the source said.
“You could say he started it, but he didn’t,” a source told DailyMail.com.
“He just said ‘you’re on the wrong side’, and then the four of them approached him and threw liquids at him. He didn’t know what it was. They shouted insults at him.
“He either fell or got hit in the chest, I don’t remember that part, but he ended up on the pavement with all four of them on top of him.
“He got up and hit one of them as he tried to escape, then ran away.”
They also claim the footage shows Kaye covered in fluid, with a stain on his back, in the now-viral video.
Images obtained by DailyMail.com show Kaye’s clothes soaked in a red liquid, which he believes was Gatorade, and blood pooling around his ankle after he was pushed to the ground.
Kaye was filmed throwing a punch at the unnamed woman during a Pride parade in Brooklyn on Saturday night, though the New York Police Department has not launched an official investigation.
A viral video showed Kaye delivering a brutal right-handed punch to an unnamed woman in Brooklyn, where he also lives in a four-bedroom townhouse in pricey Park Slope valued at just over $4 million.
A source with knowledge of the incident said the viral clip does not tell the whole story, which they say began when a group of Queers for Palestine supporters attacked Kaye as she left dinner. Pictured: Kaye’s injuries
Images obtained by DailyMail.com show Kaye’s clothes soaked in a red liquid, which he believes was Gatorade, and blood pooling around his ankle after he was pushed to the ground.
Posters bearing his face, home address and cellphone number were plastered around the area around his $4 million, four-bedroom home in upmarket Park Slope as neighbors erupted, demanding the father of three be arrested.
In defense of the banker, who works as a managing director at Moelis & Company, a major investment bank with offices in Midtown Manhattan, the source said the whole affair was “super anti-Semitic.”
They added: ‘In the video you can clearly see, if you put it in slow motion, that he is wet because they were throwing liquids at him.
‘That video clip is cut and doesn’t show the whole thing. He’s never had a problem in his entire life, he’s never been arrested or anything.
“It was a massive anti-Semitic attack, with four individuals ganging up on a Jewish man. It left him completely traumatised.”
The bank is currently investigating Kaye. A spokesperson confirmed her identity and added that they are taking the images and allegations seriously. An official report has not yet been filed with the New York Police Department, although they are aware of the images.
In the clip, the woman is seen being thrown to the ground by the force of the punch, while a bystander unsuccessfully tries to help her.
Other observers are heard calling Kaye a “moron” and telling him to “fuck off,” briefly gaining his attention before abruptly walking away.
Kaye, who lives with his wife, owns several properties on the street, which he rents out to neighbors.
One person said they were “in shock” when they saw the footage this morning, adding that the father of three always seemed “normal” even though he normally spoke to his wife.
Another neighbour described scenes of chaos on the usually quiet street last night as friends of the victim ran around shouting that Kaye had assaulted a woman.
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