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Joseph Borgen, age 29, of Nassau County, was attacked by several people in Midtown Manhattan in May 2021, according to police. Video posted on Twitter shows several people kicking and throwing things at him. He was also struck repeatedly with crutches and pepper-sprayed.
Borgen later told the Times of Israel he was attacked for wearing a yarmulke while walking to a pro-Israel rally.
“I was literally just in a fetal position, trying to guard my head and face, literally just trying to make it out of there alive,” he told the outlet. “I thought I was going to die. I thought I was really going to die.”
One of his suspected attackers, Waseem Awawdeh, was eventually arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including:
- Assault as a hate crime
- Gang assault
- Menacing
- Aggravated Harassment as a hate crime
- Criminal possession of a weapon
Community leaders were shocked, however, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered Awawdeh a plea deal in January 2023 with a six-month jail sentence and five years of probation, according to CBS 2.
Speaking at a rally Thursday, Jan. 19, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called on Bragg to retract his offer.
"We are setting a dangerous precedent,” Blakeman said. “We are sending a dangerous message to those people who would engage in any kind of hate crime that New York City, Manhattan, is going to be lenient.”
Former New York Congressman Peter King, a Republican who represented parts of Long Island from 1993 to 2021, also criticized Bragg for offering what he called a “sweetheart” deal.
“Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is once again disgracing his office,” King said in a Facebook post.
Bragg’s office told CBS 2 that the sentencing recommendations came after its hate crimes unit conducted a “thorough investigation.”
Three other suspects are facing hate crime charges stemming from the attack.
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