White Supremacists Attack Men Outside Lower East Side Bar: Police

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — A group of white supremacists attacked two men in the Lower East Side on Saturday, apparently after spotting one of the men's anti-fascist phone sticker, the New York Post reported.

The men, brothers, were attacked as they left Clockwork bar, 21 Essex St., early on Saturday morning, police confirmed. Officers responded to a 911 call of an assault at the bar. Multiple people with the white supremacist "211 Crew," were inside the bar and followed the brothers as they were leaving, police said.

The group "forcibly removed" one brother's cellphone in addition to threatening the men with a knife, and "the victims were punched and kicked in the head repeatedly," according to an NYPD spokesman. The New York Post reported that the group saw one brother's phone, which had a sticker that read "New York City Anti-Fascists," before launching the attack. Officers responded and said they arrested one person in connection with the attack, 29-year-old John Young of Washington, D.C. Young was charged with assault, grand larceny, menacing, criminal mischief, and possession of a weapon, police said.

The two brothers were treated for multiple injuries, including several stitches to their heads.

The 211 Crew is a white supremacist prison gang that operates both in and outside of prisons, according to the Anti-Defamation League. An NYPD spokesman confirmed to Patch that the department's hate crimes task force is investigating the incident. The spokesman couldn't confirm how many people were involved in the attack and didn't have any additional information about the brothers' identities.

The New York Post reported that the 27-year-old twin brothers were both Columbia grad students. Patch was not able to independently verify this information. One of the brothers spoke with the New York Post on the condition of anonymity. Here's his account, as told to the Post:

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.

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.

Image via Patch.

This post has been updated with additional information.