Video shows investment banker punching person in the face in Brooklyn

The managing director of a global investment banking firm was caught on camera punching a person in the face and knocking them down onto the street in Brooklyn, New York, the company told NBC News on Monday.

The video, which is violent and includes profanity, was posted on X on Sunday and has been viewed more than 12 million times as of Monday afternoon. In it, a man can be seen hurling his fist at an unidentified person’s face. They then collapse to the ground near what appears to be another person lying on the ground, struggling. The man then walks off in the opposite direction, the video shows, and defends himself to onlookers.

“She f— threw shit all over me,” the man said. The back of his jacket appeared to be splashed with liquid. 

The 10-second video does not show what took place in the moments that led up to the altercation. It appears to have taken place in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope on Saturday, in the hours after the borough’s annual LGBTQ pride parade.

Investment banking firm Moelis & Co. released a statement on Sunday confirming that the man in the video was one of its employees.

“We have become aware that one of our employees was involved in a serious incident in Brooklyn on June 8,” Moelis & Co. said. “We take this matter very seriously and are conducting an investigation.”

Moelis & Co. then confirmed with NBC News on Monday that the employee in the video was its managing director, Jonathan Kaye.

Kaye and the X user who shared the video did not respond to requests for comment. The X user who shared the video does not appear to have been the one who took it.

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department said in a statement that the department has seen the video, but that a police report has not been filed. The Brooklyn Pride Board — which runs Brooklyn’s Pride celebration — also said in a statement that the unidentified person in the video has not come forward.

“Brooklyn Pride has reviewed the video link, and while it appears to have occurred way after the parade had ended, we have forwarded the video to the local precinct,” the Brooklyn Pride Board said in a statement. “Brooklyn Pride condemns violence of any kind, and we will continue to monitor what we believe was an abhorrent incident.”

It is unclear if the unidentified person in the video participated in the LGBTQ event.