A 45-year-old Brooklyn man, Anthony Caines, was arrested on November 13 for allegedly spitting in the faces of multiple white women in a series of racially motivated attacks in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
Despite facing multiple charges, including aggravated harassment based on race or religion, Caines was released the following day under supervised release with an ankle monitor after pleading not guilty.
The incidents occurred over two days, November 11 and 12.
According to a report from the New York Post, Caines targeted four white women in separate attacks without provocation.
One victim was spat on outside 285 Broadway at 10:05 a.m. on November 11, another at Bedford Avenue and Grand Street less than two hours later, a third at Marcy Avenue and South Fourth Street at 10:40 p.m., and a fourth outside 186 Grand Street at 8 a.m. the next morning.
Victims described feeling violated and stunned by the unprovoked assaults.
“I just felt so violated,” one of Caines’ alleged victims, a college student, told the New York Post. “In my face, of all places. It was crazy, honestly.”
“I was completely caught off guard,” she added. “It was in the morning, and I was half-asleep. He came up, spit on me, and kept going, and I thought, ‘What just happened to me? Am I supposed to be okay with this and go about the rest of my day?’”
Caines, who has a prior record including arrests for domestic violence and contempt of court, was identified through security camera footage.
The charges are classified as misdemeanors, with the top charge being Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree. If there had been a felony, he might have been held.
Hellbound and Down 