Two men have been arrested in connection with an alleged anti-Black hate crime in which a woman was subjected to a racial slur and nearly set on fire by a suspect wearing a MAGA hat.
Michael Santiago, 31, and Michael James, 33, were taken into custody
on Feb. 26 and face multiple hate crime charges, including attempted assault, criminal mischief, and menacing, PIX 11 reports. The charges stem from a Feb. 19 incident in which the two men, one seen wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, allegedly set a 54-year-old woman’s boots on fire while making anti-Black remarks near West 26th Street and Seventh Avenue shortly before 3 p.m.The incident, captured on disturbing video, reportedly began after the woman pushed away a man wearing the MAGA hat when he attempted to kiss her, while the other suspect appeared to record the encounter, authorities said. As she tried to walk away, the men allegedly blocked her path and used a lighter to ignite her boots.
“You’re my slave,” the man can be seen telling the woman.
“You’re a slave to my blackness,” she replied.
The man then allegedly asked if he
could kiss her boots, and she agreed, pulling out her phone to record the moment. Instead of kissing the boots, however, he is seen using an object to set them on fire.“Kiss me,” he told her.
“I would never kiss you,” she said.
After releasing surveillance images and seeking the public’s help, police were able to identify and locate the two suspects, leading to their arrests. In addition to attempted assault, criminal mischief, and menacing, the men were also charged with arson and criminal tampering.
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