The US Justice Department on Tuesday threatened to slap possible federal charges against protesters at an anti-Israel rally outside a Brooklyn center where a Jewish woman and Orthodox boy were attacked.
“We are aware of this situation last night and are working with our colleagues in NYC to collect evidence and analyze potential charges,” wrote Harmeet Dhillon, assistant US Attorney for civil rights, on X.
The feds’ involvement comes after anti-Israeli demonstrators viciously clashed with Jewish protesters Monday night outside the Young Israel Senior Services of Midwood, which was holding an event promoting real estate in Israel and the West Bank.
Videos posted online show a Jewish woman having her hair yanked by the pro-Palestinian crowd and a masked provocateur flashing a strobing light directly in the eyes of a young Orthodox boy outside the Avenue H subway station, where the protest eventually reportedly fizzled out.
Four people were arrested in the melee: two pro-Palestinian demonstrators, one who threw a rock and the other who kicked a car, and two pro-Israeli protesters who hurled eggs at the crowd, sources said.
Two of the people arrested were 17 years old and not identified by police. The other pair were identified as Dariel Ali, 30, who was charged with assault and weapons possession, and Mohamed Asbas, 36, who was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration.
Ali has at least four prior arrests, including for robbery, with three sealed cases that include threatening another person on the subway after a rowdy 2021 demonstration, sources said.
Several Jewish community leaders slammed the NYPD for not deploying its elite Strategic Response Group to quell the unrest — and even blamed lefty Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the move.
Mamdani, a former state assemblyman, vowed in 2024 before running for mayor to disband the SRG, a special operations team that responds to citywide mobilizations, civil disorders and major events.
“It’s the only way — it has to be from the mayor,” Brooklyn state Assemblyman Kalman Yeger told The Post of the fact that the SRG did not enter the fray.
“[Police Commissioner Jessica] Tisch on her own wouldn’t have allowed this.”
Brooklyn city Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said she was told SRG was ordered to stand down during the melee.
But “that’s what they’re for,” Vernikov said. “SRG are the only ones trained to deal with these protests.
“They’re usually present, and we know Mamdani wants to shut down that department.”
An NYPD rep said 400 cops were deployed to the Monday night demonstration and successfully responded to the unrest, noting that the SRG is designed to handle mass arrests situations, while only four busts were made at the Brooklyn protest.
The Police Department representative added that Mamdani was not involved in the NYPD’s handling of the protest — and said the cops even got praise for their actions from members and leaders in the local Jewish community.
The mayor’s office did not respond to a Post request for comment.
But earlier Tuesday, Tisch addressed the NYPD’s role in handling heated demonstrations such as Monday night’s.
“Our responsibility has remained the same: To protect the First Amendment right to free speech, including speech that many people may find offensive or deeply uncomfortable,” she said at the ABNY Power Breakfast in Manhattan on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Matthew Fischetti