Banker in viral video who allegedly punched woman at Brooklyn Pride quits job at Moelis & Co.
A senior banker at Moelis & Co. has quit his job after a video of him punching a woman in Brooklyn circulated on social media.
"Jonathan Kaye has resigned and is no longer with the firm," a Moelis spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch Monday.
Kaye had been with the boutique bank for over a decade. In a 2013 post, the investment bank announced his appointment to managing director of the company's mergers and acquisitions group.
His employment at the firm began to unravel on June 8, when he was filmed appearing to strike a woman at a Brooklyn Pride event, causing her to fall to the ground, in a video shared on social media platform X. Online sleuths identified the alleged assailant as Kaye, who at the time was managing director of Moelis & Co.'s global business services franchise.
He was placed on leave shortly after the incident, according to a Bloomberg report.
A spokesperson for Kaye told CBS MoneyWatch that he "was in fear for his physical safety when he was surrounded by an angry mob of agitators who encircled him, physically assaulted him and threw unknown liquids on him" at the event. "He could not identify any of these individuals and was left bloodied from the attack."
The spokesperson also noted a rise in antisemitic incidents, saying they would make "any Jewish person" feel threatened. The spokesperson added that Kaye has received numerous death threats following the incident.
The New York Police Department told CBS MoneyWatch that a 38-year-old woman filed a police report four days after the incident, alleging that the punch caused a broken nose, lacerations and a black eye. She also said she became unconscious after hitting the ground, according to the report. The NYPD is continuing to investigate the incident.
