Anger at Manhattan DA as three teens who roughed up Fox News meteorologist released without charge
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Three teens who severely abused Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz on the New York City subway have been released without charge.
Locals and people across the US were up in arms today after finding out that the suspects, who range in age from 15 to 17, will not face criminal investigation, with many asking how anyone can feel safe in the city.
The handling of the case has added fuel to criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is frequently accused of being too “woke” and soft on crime since taking office in November 2021.
Klotz had injuries to the boy’s eyes and scratches to his face, but said the injuries to his body were worse in a video posted to the Instagram account Sunday.
The case will no doubt add fuel to criticism facing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, pictured, who has often been accused of being too soft on crime.
Meanwhile, others have taken aim at New York Mayor Eric Adams, whom one user called “an empty suit,” adding that living in the city is “not safe.”
Klotz was left with a black eye and bruised ribs because he intercepted a group of teenagers on the subway around 1:15 a.m. Sunday after they reportedly tried to set an older man’s hair on fire. The 37-year-old meteorologist appeared bruised and bloody in an Instagram post on Sunday.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com that two 15-year-old men and a 17-year-old had been arrested but were released to their guardians with juvenile reports for assault.
The citizens of New York seemed horrified by the news today as they took to Twitter to express their frustration.
an user wrote: ‘Why did they release the thugs who attacked Adam Klotz? How can anyone feel safe in the city?
Another said: ‘None of these creatures spent a night in jail. While Adam Klotz survived the attack, the next victim may not.
New video shows two of the suspects standing next to each other after being handcuffed by police officers
One of the teens looks into the camera as officers handcuff him at the 18th Street station.
A third teen is filmed being escorted to an NYPD van by officers on Sunday morning.
A third added: ‘Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz was severely beaten and trampled by 7 or 8 minors on a New York subway train.
‘3 of the suspects were arrested but were released WITHOUT CHARGE because they were minors. NY is not safe and nothing is being done about it.’
Another, who lives out of town, simply wrote: “Thank God I don’t live in New York.”
It comes after Bragg came under fire last week for offering a plea deal to a man accused of an anti-Semitic attack that he said he would “do it again.”
Bragg was elected Manhattan District Attorney in November 2021 and led with the soft approach to the crime of using prison as a last resort.
He campaigned on the promise of criminal justice reform and issued a controversial ‘Day One’ memo after taking office that said he would only seek prison time in the most serious cases.
The same month Bragg took office, a judge told career criminal William Rolon, who was facing only misdemeanor charges for threatening a store worker with a knife, that he should “feel lucky” because of the new Bragg’s policies.
The district attorney’s sweeping changes urged prosecutors to drop armed robbery charges and instead charge suspects with petty theft, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in prison, even when dealing of a weapon if the firearm did not “create a genuine risk of bodily harm.
Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz, 37, was beaten up by teenagers on the subway after he said he told them to stop bothering an elderly man.
But other social media users seemed to think the blame lay with Mayor Eric Adams.
One wrote: ‘If you live in New York, you’re not safe, that’s the truth. New York Mayor Adams is just an empty suit.
Another tweeted to Mayor Eric Adams directly, saying: ‘What they did to Adam Klotz is disgusting. He was on your subway.
‘These people set an old man’s hair on fire. When Adam defended him, they beat him up. Then he can back off and attacked him.
‘Three were caught. Now they are back on the streets!! Fix this bitch!!’
Twitter users were horrified to discover that none of the suspects had been charged.
One user labeled Klotz’s attackers ‘creatures’ and condemned the fact that they had not spent a night in jail.
The suspects do not face criminal charges as adults because of their age, officials confirmed.
The 17-year-old suspect could have been charged as an adult before the state’s “raising the age” law that was implemented in 2019.
The revised law increased the age at which a juvenile can be charged as an adult from 17 to 18 years.
None of the boys’ names have been released, but new images show they were arrested.
In the clip, the suspects are lined up next to each other while flanked by police officers.
All three appear to be handcuffed and staring at the ground.
Another video shows the teens then being escorted by police officers to an NYPD van.
In a statement, the NYPD said: “On Sunday, January 22, 2023, at approximately 1:13 a.m., the 37-year-old male victim was aboard a southbound 1 train approaching the West 18 Station. Street and 7 Avenue when he observed a group of four teenagers acting disorderly on the train.
The beating happened around 1:15 a.m. at the 18th Street station next to the 1 train.
‘The victim asked the individuals to stop, at which point they began to assault the victim, hitting him in the face multiple times.
“When the train arrived at the 18th Street and 7th Avenue station, the four people and the victim exited the train.”
The statement added that police caught three of the suspects while the fourth fled and were unable to apprehend him.
“All were released to guardians with juvenile reports for assault,” the New York police added.
Juveniles convicted of a crime do not have to suffer the same jail terms as adults.
Instead, they face lesser punishments ranging from: formal or informal probation, enrollment in a special school for juvenile offenders, or confinement in the city’s juvenile detention center.
But Klotz himself appeared to downplay last night’s incident.
He told his 7,000 followers: “While the headline I just read ‘badly beaten by teenagers’ is true, it’s doing a lot more damage to my ego than the physical beating.”
Klotz poked fun at the incident Sunday when he joked that the incident had damaged his ego.
The 37-year-old meteorologist said he did not want to spend his life ‘angry’ about the attack
And he also insisted he wasn’t angry after a Twitter user expressed surprise that he managed to find humor in the incident.
Klotz, who is originally from Indiana, wrote: ‘Sorry mate. I will not pass [sic] angry life. I’m going to do the hard part and find a way to smile and laugh while doing it.
The meteorologist made headlines yesterday after uploading a video to Instagram where he explained that he had been attacked.
He told his followers that he was on his way home from watching the New York Giants NFL playoff when he saw the older man being picked on by teenagers.
In the video, he said: “Coming home last night after seeing the [New York] Game of giants in a bar, in the subway, this older gentleman was being harassed by this group of seven or eight teenagers.
‘I was like, ‘Yo guys, drop that. And they decided: ‘Okay, he won’t understand, then you will understand.’
‘And boy did they give it to me. They had me on the ground, my ribs are also all kinds of bruised. They got their hits.
The elderly man Klotz said he was defending was fine and was able to escape unharmed, he said.
The attack comes as data shows crime on the New York subway increased by 30 percent between 2021 and 2022.
Adams has suggested that those statistics are simply a reflection of the fact that more people are using it in post-pandemic New York.
In response to the subway’s high crime rate, the city has sought to deploy more NYPD officers to staff stations. This year, the department will spend an additional $20 million each month on police overtime, Bloomberg reported.