Dramatic new footage shows the moment New York investment banker Jonathan Kaye is attacked by a group of partygoers shouting anti-Semitic insults at him, the first time since he was accused of punching a woman during a brawl last month.
Kaye, 52, now a former director of Moelis & Company, made headlines in early June after a viral video showed him delivering a vicious punch to a female partygoer during the Brooklyn Pride Parade on June 8.
The millionaire banker reportedly resigned from his well-paid employer last week after being suspended while his company investigated the incident.
Now DailyMail.com can reveal that Kaye was arrested Monday morning after voluntarily turning himself in to police in Brooklyn, where he has been booked on second- and third-degree assault charges.
It comes after sources close to the financier came forward with his side of the story in the wake of last month’s controversy, claiming the fight was sparked after a group of four female ‘Queers for Palestine’ supporters the Jewish financier allegedly started taunting him and throwing liquids at him as he left a nearby restaurant that evening.
Now unseen footage obtained by DailyMail.com offers new insight into the events leading up to the fight. It shows the two parties encountering each other on the street in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, after which a violent physical confrontation ensues.
Surveillance footage captured by a nearby restaurant shows Kaye emerging from the right side of the sidewalk as the group of partygoers appears 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 reportedly began hurling slurs and insults.
As he continues walking down the sidewalk, he passes someone who seems to be heading toward the same group of friends in the corner. They also exchange a few words.
It is not known exactly what was said, but it was apparently provocative enough to make Kaye stop, turn around and walk towards the group.
The confrontation quickly turns chaotic and physical, with Kaye being surrounded and then pushed out of frame onto the street, drawing the attention of bystanders.
After the conflict plays out off-screen, he reappears a few seconds later and continues his way 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 take action against him.
Now DailyMail.com understands Kaye turned around and went back to confront the group after hearing the anti-Semitic comments made against 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 terrorised, attacked and surrounded by a group of unruly anti-Semitic protesters.
‘What the previously released video clip does not show, another video and other evidence we shared with the Public Prosecution Service do show: that these rioters formed a circle around him, doused him with two unknown liquids, pushed him to the ground and shouted anti-Semitic insults at him.
‘Terrified and injured, Mr Kaye managed to act in self-defence 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 wave of anti-Semitic acts, protests and attacks plaguing our city. We will aggressively fight the injustice and we look forward to full justice for our client.”
As previously reported by DailyMail.com, insiders close to the 52-year-old banker had claimed that the viral clip did not capture the full clash, which they said began when the group began making anti-Semitic comments towards Kate, who is Jewish.
Kaye allegedly told the group they were “on the wrong side,” prompting the women to take action against 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 at him – they threw liquids at him. He didn’t know what kind of liquid it was. They were shouting insults at him.
“He fell or got hit in the chest, and I don’t remember that part. But he ended up on the sidewalk with those four all over him.
“He stood up and waved at someone as he tried to escape, then ran away.”
They also claim that the footage shows Kaye covered in liquid and with a mark on his back, as seen in the video that has now gone viral.
Photos obtained by DailyMail.com show Kaye’s clothes soaked in a red liquid, which he believes is Gatorade, and blood pooling around his ankle after he was pushed to the ground.
Kaye was recorded punching the unnamed woman during a pride parade in Brooklyn on Saturday night, though no official investigation has been launched by the NYPD.
Posters with his face, home address and mobile phone number have been plastered near his $4 million, four-bedroom home in expensive Park Slope, as neighbors became enraged and demanded the father-of-three be arrested.
The source defended the banker, who serves as a Managing Director at Moelis & Company, a leading investment bank with offices in Midtown Manhattan, saying the whole thing was “super anti-Semitic.”
They added: ‘You can clearly see in the video, if you slow down, 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 been in trouble in his entire life, never been arrested or anything like that.
“It was a super anti-Semitic attack by four individuals conspiring against one Jewish man. It completely traumatized him.”
Kaye is currently under investigation by the bank, with a spokesperson confirming his identity and adding that they are taking the footage and allegations seriously. No official report has been filed with 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 runs to her aid in vain.
Others watching call Kaye an “asshole” and tell him to “go fuck himself” – which briefly catches his attention before he abruptly walks away.
Kaye, who lives with his wife, owns several properties on the street, which he rents out to neighbors.
One of them said she was “shocked” when she saw the footage this morning, adding that the father of three always seemed “normal” even though she normally spoke to his wife.
Another neighbor described scenes of chaos on the usually quiet street last night as the victim’s friends ran up and down shouting that Kaye had attacked a woman.