A Massapequa Park man was arrested Monday for punching a protester at a political rally in Setauket three weeks ago, Suffolk County police said.
Noah Milstein was charged with third-degree assault and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip in Oct. 16.
Police said the 26-year-od man was picketing at the corner of of North Country Road and
Route 25A when he ripped the sign from the hand of 64-year-old counter-protester Teddy Taranowicz, followed the victim to his car, punched the victim, and pushed the victim to the ground at 12:15 p.m. on Sept. 12.
Taranowicz, of Port Jefferson Station, went to Northport VA Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. Milstein’s arrest comes less than a week after police released a photo of the suspect and asked for tips leading to his arrest.
The incident is the latest in a string of violent clashes between protesters since Long Islanders have rallied against the coronavirus lockdown and police brutality in the past few months.
Incidents included three Black Lives Matter protesters arrested at a Lindenhurst rally in July, a driver recently convicted of trying to run over Black Lives Matter protesters in West Babylon in June, and a protester who was charged with falsely claiming to be hit by a driver in Huntington Station after the driver was charged with running over another protester. Police are also investigating as a hate crime the assault of a Black Lives Matter protester in Smithtown.
