Video shows investment banker Jonathan Kaye punching person in the face

The chief executive of a global investment bank was filmed punching a person in the face and throwing them into the street in Brooklyn, New York, the company told NBC News on Monday.

The video, violent and containing profanities, was published on X on Sunday and had been viewed more than 12 million times as of Monday afternoon. It shows a man throwing his fist at the face of an unidentified person. They then collapse to the ground near what appears to be another person lying on the ground, struggling. The man then walks in the opposite direction, shows the video, and defends himself to the spectators.

“She threw shit everywhere at me,” the man said. The back of his jacket appeared to be splashed with liquid.

The 10-second video does not show what happened in the moments leading up to the altercation. It appears to have happened Saturday in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, hours after the borough’s annual LGBTQ pride parade.

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

“We have learned that one of our employees was involved in a serious incident in Brooklyn on June 8,” Moelis & Company said. “We take this matter very seriously and are investigating.”

Moelis & Company later confirmed to NBC News on Monday that the employee in the video was its chief executive officer, Jonathan Kaye.

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

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department said in a statement that the department had seen the video, but no police report had been filed. The Brooklyn Pride Board – which organizes the Brooklyn Pride celebration – also said in a statement that the unidentified person in the video had not come forward.

“Brooklyn Pride reviewed the video link and, although this appears to have occurred well after the parade ended, we forwarded the video to the local police station,” the Brooklyn Pride Board said in a statement. “Brooklyn Pride condemns all forms of violence and we will continue to monitor what we consider to be a heinous incident. »

It is unclear whether the unidentified person in the video attended the LGBTQ event.