close
close

Millionaire banker Jonathan Kaye faces assault in court after being charged with assault for punching a woman at a NYC Pride event

Millionaire banker Jonathan Kaye faces assault in court after being charged with assault for punching a woman at a NYC Pride event

By Stephen M. Lepore for Dailymail.Com

23:42 July 1, 2024, updated 00:20 July 2, 2024

  • Kaye was attacked outside his court hearing and subjected to anti-Semitic abuse
  • He was charged with assault for hitting a woman at a Pride event
  • The pro-Hamas group calls for “Zionist pigs” and “Jewish dogs”



New York investment banker Jonathan Kaye was attacked and hurled anti-Semitic insults outside his court appearance after being charged with assault for hitting a woman at a Pride event.

Kaye, 52, a former CEO of Moelis & Company, made headlines in early June after a video circulated online showed him brutally punching a reveler at the Brooklyn Pride Parade on June 8.

He was arrested Monday morning after voluntarily turning himself in to police in Brooklyn, where he was charged with second- and third-degree assault.

As he and his lawyer left the courtroom, they were met by assailants, at least one of whom – a man – attacked his lawyer with a knife.

The group with which Kaye and his lawyer were in contact was also subjected to anti-Semitic abuse. At least one member of the pro-Hamas group called them “Zionist pigs” and “Jewish dogs.”

New York investment banker Jonathan Kaye was attacked outside his court hearing after being charged with assault for hitting a woman at a Pride event
Kaye, 52, the now former chief executive of Moelis & Company, made headlines in early June after a viral video showed him brutally beating a reveler at the Brooklyn Pride Parade on June 8.

The man hit the lawyer on the back and then tried to chase Kaye with the car keys between his fingers and use them as a weapon.

Click here to resize this module

A woman eventually told the attacker to run away, which he did. DailyMail.com has contacted the NYPD for comment.

Earlier in the controversy last month, sources close to the financier came forward with his side of the story, claiming that the brawl broke out when a group of four female supporters of the Queers for Palestine organization allegedly began taunting and throwing liquids at the Jewish financier as he left a nearby restaurant that evening.

Previously unseen footage obtained by DailyMail.com offers new insight into the events leading up to the brawl, showing the moment the two parties crossed paths on the street in Brooklyn’s Park Slope before a heated physical confrontation ensued.

Surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant shows Kaye emerging from the right side of the sidewalk, where the group of revelers appears to be on the corner.

The two parties appear to exchange words as Kaye walks past, but he continues walking before turning back around after the group allegedly begins yelling profanities and insults.

As he continues up the sidewalk, his path crosses that of a person who appears to be returning to the same group of friends in the corner, and they too exchange a few words.

It is not known exactly what was said, but it was apparently provocative enough to cause Kaye to stop, turn around and walk toward the group.

As he and his lawyer left the courtroom, they were met by assailants, at least one of whom – a man – attacked his lawyer with a knife.
The group with which Kaye and his lawyer were in contact was also subjected to anti-Semitic abuse. At least one member of the pro-Hamas group shouted “Zionist pigs” and “Jewish dogs.”

The confrontation quickly escalates into chaotic physical altercations. Kaye is seen surrounded and then pushed off-screen into the street, where she attracts the attention of the bystanders.

Click here to resize this module

After the altercation takes place outside the camera’s field of view, he reappears in the picture seconds later and continues his way across the sidewalk.

Sources told DailyMail.com last month that Kaye, who is Jewish, told the group they were “on the wrong side,” after which the women ganged up on him.

As DailyMail.com has now learned, Kaye turned around and went back 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 aggression, was terrorized, attacked and surrounded by a group of unruly anti-Semitic protesters.”

“What the previously released video clip does not show is what another video and other evidence we presented to the prosecution show: that these troublemakers formed a ring around him, doused him with two unknown liquids, pushed him to the ground and hurled anti-Semitic insults at him.

“Mr. Kaye was frightened and injured, but was able to free himself in self-defense and return safely to his family. We hope the District Attorney will fully and fairly consider these facts, as well as the wave of anti-Semitic acts, protests and attacks plaguing our city. We will vigorously fight injustice and look forward to a full vindication of our client.”

As DailyMail.com previously reported, insiders close to the 52-year-old banker claimed that the viral clip did not capture the entire argument, which began when the group began hurling anti-Semitic slurs at Kate, who is Jewish.

New footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows the moment millionaire investment banker Jonathan Kaye first encounters a group of Pride parade-goers as he walks past them on the corner of a Brooklyn street on June 8.
Kaye, 52, continues walking along the sidewalk where he meets another member of the group (red arrow) and the two exchange words
It is not known what was said between the two, but the exchange was enough to prompt Kaye to turn around and walk toward the group. The bankers’ lawyers claimed the group hurled anti-Semitic abuse at him.
The confrontation quickly turns aggressive and violent as the group gangs up on Kaye and pushes him out onto the street

Kaye reportedly told the group they were “on the wrong side,” after which the women ganged up on him, the source said.

“You could say he initiated 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 came up to him and threw liquids at him. He didn’t know what kind of liquid it was. They were yelling at him.

“He fell or was hit in the chest, I don’t remember. But he landed on the sidewalk and the four of them were on top of him.

“He stood up, hit one as he tried to escape, and then ran.”

They also claim that footage from the now-viral video shows Kaye covered in fluid and having a stain on her back.

Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com show Kaye’s clothes soaked in a red liquid – which he believes is Gatorade – and a pool of blood around his ankle after he was pushed to the ground.

Kaye was filmed hitting the unnamed woman during a gay pride parade in Brooklyn on Saturday night, but the New York Police Department has not launched an official investigation.

A viral video showed Kaye delivering a brutal overhand 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 familiar with the incident said the viral clip does not tell the full story, which is said to have begun when a group of Queers for Palestine supporters attacked Kaye as he was leaving dinner.
Jonathan Kaye’s injuries
Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com show Kaye’s clothes soaked with a red liquid he believes to be 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 near his $4 million, four-bedroom townhouse in pricey Park Slope after neighbors became outraged and called for the father of three’s arrest.

In defense of the banker, who works as a managing director at Moelis & Company, a leading investment bank with offices in Midtown Manhattan, the source said the whole thing was “extremely anti-Semitic.”

They added: “If you slow down the video, you can clearly see that he is wet because they threw liquids at him.”

“The video clip is edited and does not show everything. He has never had a problem in his entire life, was never arrested or anything.

“It was an extremely anti-Semitic attack by four people who allied themselves against a Jewish man. He is completely traumatized.”

Kaye is currently under investigation by the bank. A spokesperson confirmed his identity, adding that they are taking the footage and allegations seriously. An official report has not yet been submitted to the NYPD, although they are aware of the footage.

The clip shows the woman being thrown to the ground by the force of the blow, while a bystander tries in vain to help her.

Other viewers can be heard calling Kaye an ‘asshole’ and telling him to ‘f**k off’ – briefly catching his attention before he abruptly walks away.

Kaye, who lives with his wife, owns several properties on the street, which he rents to neighbors.

One of them said she was “shocked” when she saw the footage this morning, adding that the father of three had always seemed “normal” even though she usually spoke to his wife.

Another neighbor described chaotic scenes on the usually quiet street last night as the victim’s friends ran up and down, screaming that Kaye had attacked a woman.