Current:Home > ContactNYC vigilantes 'Guardian Angels' tackle New Yorker on live TV, misidentify him as migrant -ThriveEdge Finance
NYC vigilantes 'Guardian Angels' tackle New Yorker on live TV, misidentify him as migrant
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:40:49
Members of a New York vigilante group tackled a man they misidentified as a migrant during a live interview on Fox News on Tuesday.
The incident was captured as host Sean Hannity interviewed Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the anti-crime patrol group, live from Times Square during a segment meant to highlight crime and disorder in the city.
During the interview, the camera panned to show an off-screen interaction where group members donning their signature red berets and bomber jackets had confronted an unidentified man, pushed him to the sidewalk and placed him in a headlock.
“In fact, our guys have just taken down one of the migrant guys on the corner of 42nd and 7th where all of this has taken place,” Sliwa told Hannity. Throwing his hands in the air, he added: “They’ve taken over!”
Silwa then said the man had "been shoplifting first, the Guardian Angels spotted him, stopped him, he resisted, and let’s just say we gave him a little pain compliance. His mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations."
"He’s sucking concrete, the cops scraped him off the asphalt, he’s on his way to jail, but they’ll cut him loose," Sliwa added. "We’ve got to take 42nd Street back, Sean. These illegals think they own this street. They think they rule the night. This is our country.
Former mayoral candidate:Democrat Eric Adams elected New York City mayor, defeats longshot Curtis Sliwa
Police say man was New Yorker from the Bronx
However, police told the Associated Press that the man was not a migrant, but a Bronx native. Police also did not provide any evidence to support Sliwa's allegation that the man was caught stealing.
The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but a New spokesperson told the AP that officers arrived to find a man “detained by bystanders” after he allegedly tried to disrupt a live interview. The man was issued a disorderly conduct summons because he was acting in a loud and threatening manner on a public sidewalk, police said.
Police did not respond to the AP's question on whether any of the Guardian Angels, who have had a presence in the city since 1979, were under investigation for their role in the altercation.
Hochul: 'This is not the Wild West'
On Wednesday, Sliwa told NBC News that the altercation started because the man attacked a Guardian Angel, and the group responded by making a citizen arrest. He told the outlet his remarks on Fox News were based on the information he heard from those around him at the time.
"There’s like three guys rumbling with people in the crowd," he said. "But then they come up to the location of the broadcast as the broadcast is going on … and then the one guy socks a female Guardian Angel. Everyone who is behind me now goes rushing toward the location, and they take down the person who hit the Guardian Angel."
Sliwa told the AP that he presumed the man was a migrant because he was “speaking Spanish” and because other Guardian Angels had encountered him with other Spanish speakers on previous patrols.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul addressed the televised incident.
"You cannot take the law into your own hands. NYPD, among the finest on this planet, they work hard every single day and we support them. It is their responsibility to take care of this, not individuals," Hochul said in a message to Sliwa and his group. "And so I reject the premise that anyone can take the law into their own hands. Then we have chaos. This is not the Wild West. This is New York State."
veryGood! (44638)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack
- Census categories misrepresent the ‘street race’ of Latinos, Afro Latinos, report says
- How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Family of explorer who died in the Titan sub implosion seeks $50M-plus in wrongful death lawsuit
- US Open player compensation rises to a record $65 million, with singles champs getting $3.6 million
- Sonya Massey's family keeps eyes on 'full justice' one month after shooting
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Blake Lively receives backlash for controversial September issue cover of Vogue
- IOC's decision to separate speed climbing from other disciplines paying off
- FBI: California woman brought sword, whip and other weapons into Capitol during Jan. 6 riot
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Mega Millions winning numbers for August 6 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $398 million
- Noah Lyles earns chance to accomplish sprint double after advancing to 200-meter final
- Three people arrested in rural Nevada over altercation that Black man says involved a racial slur
Recommendation
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
Connie Chiume, Black Panther Actress, Dead at 72: Lupita Nyong'o and More Pay Tribute
Hello Kitty's 50th Anniversary Extravaganza: Shop Purr-fect Collectibles & Gifts for Every Sanrio Fan
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket
Severe flooding from glacier outburst damages over 100 homes in Alaska's capital
Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections