NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 A Venezuelan man who became the subject of national attention for allegedly kicking a police officer in Times Square, then flipping off news cameras on his way out of court, was cleared of wrongdoing on Friday after prosecutors concluded he played no role in the attack.
The stunning exoneration by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg came weeks after Jhoan Boada, 22, was widely vilified as the face of a Jan. 27th brawl between migrants and New York City police officers that touched off .
He featured prominently in a pro-Trump political ad titled 鈥淛oe Biden鈥檚 middle finger,鈥 which ended on a freeze frame of Boada making the gesture while leaving his initial arraignment.
In a Manhattan courtroom Friday, prosecutors told a judge that further investigation proved Boada did not participate in the attack. The man seen in the video kicking an officer with pink shoes 鈥 initially identified by police as Boada 鈥 is now believed to be a separate person. That man has been charged and is awaiting criminal arraignment.
An attorney for Boada, Javier Damien, said his client was the victim of a 鈥渞ush to judgment鈥 by media, police, and elected officials. 鈥淚t was a political football, and people were attacked with a broad brush,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very sad.鈥
Boada, who lives in the city鈥檚 homeless shelter, had maintained his innocence from the start. During his arraignment on Jan. 31, his attorney told the judge that Boada had requested the surveillance footage of the incident be shared widely because 鈥渆verybody who watches the videotape will not see him on there."
Prosecutors agreed to release him without bail, noting that he did not have a criminal history and that they were still working 鈥渢o conduct a thorough analysis of the incident and the defendant鈥檚 role in it,鈥 according to a transcript of the proceeding.
At the time, news of Boada鈥檚 release drew fiery responses from conservative media and the city鈥檚 police officials. In an interview on MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淢orning Joe,鈥 NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell suggested that Boada and others had fled the city on a bus 鈥 an allegation that was later contradicted by officials.
鈥淭o add insult to injury to all of us, and we鈥檙e very benevolent people in New York City, to give us literally the finger on the way out the door,鈥 Chell continued. 鈥淭his is a host of issues that we have to talk about, and it stops right here.鈥
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also lashed out at prosecutors鈥 decision not to seek bail, adding that all those involved in the assault should be deported.
In the weeks after the brawl, the Manhattan district attorney that some of the people initially accused of kicking police were found to have played a less significant role in the melee than previously thought.
鈥淲e have to ensure we identify and charge those individuals who actually committed criminal acts in this matter,鈥 Bragg said. 鈥淭he only thing worse than failing to bring perpetrators to justice would be to ensnare innocent people in the criminal justice system.鈥
The assault charges against a 21-year-old were downgraded to evidence tampering after prosecutors determined that he had not touched police officers, but he had traded his jacket with one of the men who fled the confrontation.
A 19-year-old widely reported to have attacked officers also did not physically touch the officers, but allegedly kicked a police radio. Prosecutors also dropped assault charges against a 21-year-old for a lack of evidence tying him to the brawl.
Damien, the attorney for Boada, said his client was confused when police arrested him on assault charges two days after the incident, but he struggled to defend himself in English.
鈥淗e was trying to explain to the cop that he wasn鈥檛 there,鈥 the attorney said. 鈥淏ut they wouldn鈥檛 listen to him.鈥
