(RepublicanView.org) – New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested a 23-year-old woman in connection with an attack on a cellist in a Manhattan subway station. A video of the assault went viral and showed a woman picking up a metal water bottle and hitting a man in the back of the head while he performed with the cello at 34 St. & 6th Avenue.
Iain Forest was performing as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s performing arts program, Music Under New York. Since the attack, he said he will no longer perform on the subway. He added that the attack “hurt like h*ll” and is calling for more protection for public performers, noting that this was the second time he’d endured an assault. The medical student posted about the attack on his Instagram account, saying his assailant had discarded her jacket and escaped into a nearby Macy’s.
Amira Hunter, a Brooklyn resident, has subsequently been charged with assault. Media reports say she has a long police record and prior arrests for domestic assault, petty larceny, and grand larceny, but has never been convicted. She pleaded not guilty to the assault charge and was released under supervision. Prosecutors requested a $45,000 bond, stating that Hunter had failed to appear at three of her five previous court cases, but Judge Marva Brown, who spent 20 years as a public defender, opted to release her.
Since the incident, Mr. Forest founded the Subway Performers Advocacy Group (SPAG) and noted that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and NYPD do not collect statistics on assaults against public musical performers. His website includes a form for musicians to report incidents or join him in campaigning for more protection.
According to the MTA, over 350 individuals and groups give around 12,000 performances across the New York subway system every year. The Music Under New York program holds auditions and picks the best performers to play in stations. It says each performer is provided with safety guidance.
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