Who is Melissa Ugur? NYC woman arrested for allegedly attacking a Jewish safety volunteer with pepper spray
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY: Melissa Ugur, a NYC woman was arrested after allegedly attacking a Jewish safety volunteer with pepper spray.
The 20-year-old is also accused of ripping down posters of Israeli hostages last week and shouting “I’ll kill you Jews” before attacking the victim, as per New York Post.
HATE CRIME OVER SHABBAT: A Shmira member was maced this afternoon on Avenue N & East 22nd Street.
— Flatbush News & Updates (@FlatbushUpdates) November 5, 2023
The perpetrator, a Middle Eastern female was ripping down kidnapped flyers of civilians being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel. The shmira member asked why she was doing… pic.twitter.com/5dZLPtNZsG
Who is Mark Pomerantz?
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon, November 4, in Midwood when Shmira Public Safety volunteer Mark Pomerantz confronted her and questioned her action.
Ugur responded with, “Because it’s not true, it never happened,” while referring to the October 7 attack in which around 240 people were taken hostages by Hamas militants.
The victim of the attack said he didn’t mean things to escalate things but tried to reason with Ugur. “Nobody would hang up posters like that if it wasn’t true,” the 52-year-old said.
“As she was cutting the papers, she said, ‘Oh and you’re a Jew?'” he told the outlet.
“She said, ‘See how I’m slicing these papers? That’s how I’ll slice up all you Jews and kill you.'”
Pomerantz then asked her if she was threatening him, “She goes, ‘I’ll kill you Jews’ and ‘Dirty Jews.’ She kept going on and on and stated ‘Allahu Akbar’ and Muhammad,” he said, moments before she unleashed pepper spray in his face.
“They’re kidnapping and I pepper-sprayed him!” Ugur, who hails from Brooklyn, shouted as the officers led her into the back of a police car, the moment was recorded by onlookers.
What are the charges against Melissa Ugur?
The knife-wielding woman was booked with assault, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon.
On Sunday, November 5, Brooklyn Criminal Court released Ugur without bail at her arraignment. The next court date was given on January 18.
Pomerantz, however, wants her to be tried for a hate crime. “If that is not considered terrorism or a hate crime to you, I don’t know what is,” he said.
She definitely saw my yarmulke,” Pomerantz said, referring to Ugur’s assault.
“I’m assuming that’s how she differentiated that I’m Jewish,” he said.
Ugur’s attorney Caner Demirayak shared the video from a reported witness who claimed his client pepper-sprayed Pomerantz only in self-defense after he allegedly punched her.
“Yes, a poster was removed. Yes, there was a pepper-spraying. There was no knife. There was no threat ‘I’ll cut you.’ There was no ‘I’ll kill the Jews.’ There was no antisemitic comments at all,” Demirayak said.
“We think that there was a rush to an arrest. We don’t think they’ll be able to secure an indictment and we’re looking forward to a full dismissal,” Demirayak added.