Alvin Bragg Drops Assault Charge in Snowball Skirmish With Police

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg won’t pursue assault charges against a 27-year-old man arrested for allegedly throwing snowballs at New York City police officers this week, the New York Post reported. 

Bragg has had a controversial tenure, running for office as a progressive prosecutor and winning a conviction against Donald Trump in 2024 in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. 

In video that was widely circulated this week, a group of people appeared to hurl large snowballs at New York City Police officers that reportedly injured some officers. The president of the Police Benevolent Association told CBS New York that officers were hit with ice and rocks mixed with the snow.

On Thursday, police arrested 27-year-old Gusmane Coulibaly after his picture was circulated on a tipline for the incident, and charged him with assaulting police.

Bragg’s office reduced charges during an arraignment on Thursday evening to “harassment and obstruction of governmental administration as a second-degree violation and misdemeanor.”

The Washington Square Park incident has become a contentious political issue in New York City, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani said earlier this week he opposed charges. 

“So, I’ve seen videos of kids throwing snowballs at members of the NYPD in Washington Square Park,” the mayor said Tuesday. He later added, “From the videos that I’ve seen, it looks like a snowball fight.” 

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the ordeal “disgraceful” and “criminal.” 

“The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops,” Tisch said in a post on X on Monday night.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts called this “perfect example of the anarcho-tyranny.”

“A perfect example of the anarcho-tyranny I write about in my book, Dawn’s Early Light. The underclass loots the streets while the ruling class loots the state and private sector,” Roberts posted.

“Droves of virtuous, law-abiding citizens will be left to suffer for the ‘rights’ of criminals, and Mamdani and Bragg will call it justice. It’s hard to overstate how significantly NYC will decay because of their rejection of justice and ordered liberty.”

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