A suspect assaulted a 63-year-old man in New York’s Central Park earlier this week in what appeared to be an antisemitic attack, police said.
A man in his mid-40s allegedly attacked the victim from behind as he was walking through the park on Wednesday. The victim fell, chipping his tooth and breaking his hand.
The suspect allegedly yelled antisemitic comments at the victim and said “Kanye 2024.” The suspect, who remains at large, fled the scene on a bicycle with an attached trailer with a sign that said “Hungry Disabled.”
In recent months, West has gone on a series of antisemitic rants on social media and during an appearance on Fox News. West later appeared on Infowars where he praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. He was then suspended from Twitter after posting a picture of a swastika.
“When public figures with huge platforms fan the flames of antisemitism, people will copy it and begin to think it’s normal,” Scott Richman, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey, told CNN.
Antisemitic attacks in the U.S. reached a record high last year, rising 34 percent from the year prior, per the ADL.