
NYPD arrests woman for pepper spray attack in Manhattan
In connection with an anti-Asian attack in Manhattan this month, police charged a woman with hate crimes.
Madeline Barker, 47, of Merritt Island, Florida, was arraigned Saturday on multiple charges, including aggravated harassment and hate crimes. She was also accused of a hate crime attempt, according to WFLA.
A video showed Barker making anti-Asian remarks and pepper-spraying four people in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Barker confirmed her identity when shown a video still, according to a Manhattan DA’s complaint.
According to the complaint, the four women who were pepper-sprayed, all of whom identify as Asian, told authorities that Barker told them, “Why don’t you go back to your country?”
Barker’s legal aid counsel told Judge Eric Schumacher at her arraignment on Saturday that the situation had been “amplified by media sensation.” According to the New York Post, the judge set her bail at $20,000 dollars.