According to the New York Post, two men were attacked last night outside Clockwork Bar on Essex Street by a group of white supremacists.
The incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. as the 27-year old twin brothers walked out of the punk dive bar at 21 Essex St. The Post reported that a gang of six or seven skinheads took offense at an anti-fascist sticker of one of the brothers’ cell phones. Here’s more from the story:
The beat down happened when the brothers, both 27-year-old Columbia graduate students noticed the large group of “skinheads” hanging inside one of their usual haunts called Clockwork on Essex Street and decided to head for the exits around 12:30 a.m. On the way out the door, they ran into a group of smokers outside who noticed the sticker on one of their phones reading “New York City Anti-Fascists.”
One of the victims, who asked the Post not to use his name, said, “One of the guys … sees [my brother’s] phone, grabs it and starts screaming, ‘I know what the f— that means, I know what the f— that sticker is, you need to get the f— out of here.”
“He throws the phone on the ground and they just start jumping us right in front of the bar,” said the man. The brothers were beat up by the gang, some of whom were using brass knuckles. Cops said they were wearing matching vests with patches that read, “211 Crew.” That’s a known white supremacist group.
When the brothers tried to get away, they were chased down Essex Street and Hester Street. The gang then continued attacking the brothers. The victim explained, “One of the guys pulled a knife on my brother first and starts slashing at him. Then the guy with the knife starts coming over to me… His buddy grabs him and I guess at that point they all decide to run off.”
Undervover cops happened to be driving by, spotted the victims and stopped to find out what had happened. The brothers were able to identify one of the suspects, who was still hanging out in the area. Police arrested 29-year-old John Young. According to online court records, Young was charged with second degree gang assault, grand larceny and menacing with a weapon. Several accomplices have not yet been caught.
One of the victims said, “I didn’t think something like this could happen. This is crazy… I didn’t think they would be so brazen as to patronize a bar in Manhattan like that. I go there all the time and never felt a bad feeling.”
One of the men needed five staples to close a head wound. The other brother also suffered a head wound and required two staples. They both had cuts and bruises.
UPDATE Feb. 13, 3:35 p.m. See more information here, including a statement from the owners of Clockwork Bar.
