NEW YORK.- The Manhattan district attorney’s office acquitted a Venezuelan citizen identified as Jhoan Boadawho was accused of allegedly assaulting a police officer in Times Squareafter prosecutors determined he played no role in the incident.
The exoneration, announced by the prosecutor Alvin Braggcomes weeks after Boada, 22, was widely maligned in the United States as the arrogant face of a Jan. 27 altercation when video footage showed migrants beating New York police officers. an incident that generated great political outrage.
The young Venezuelan became a prominent figure in a political ad in favor of former President Donald Trump titled “Joe Biden’s Middle Finger,” which concluded with a frozen image of Boada showing the gesture as he left the court after his initial appearance.
The individual seen in the video kicking an officer in pink shoes — initially identified as Boada by police — is now believed to be another person, who has been charged and is pending arraignment before a judge.
Boada’s lawyer, Javier Damianstated that his client was the victim of a “hasty judgment” by the media, police and elected officials.
Boada, a resident of the city’s homeless shelter, maintained his innocence from the beginning. During his appearance on January 31, his attorney informed the judge that Boada had requested wide dissemination of surveillance camera footage of the incident, arguing that “anyone who sees the video will not identify him.”
Prosecutors agreed to release him without bail, noting his lack of criminal history and saying they were continuing to work on a “thorough investigation of the incident and the defendant’s role in it,” according to a transcript of the proceedings.
News of Boada’s release sparked strong reactions from conservative media and city law enforcement officials. During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell suggested that Boada and other individuals had fled the city on a bus, an allegation that was later denied by police. authorities.
Source: With information from AP
