A hate-filled madman is said to have called a Muslim passerby a “terrorist” and then beaten him in a gruesome brawl in Midtown that was caught on camera – and was ultimately released without bail.
David Grinblat, 35, brutally attacked Sheharyar Ali Kazmi, 25, on Aug. 5 near Rockefeller Center on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Manhattan prosecutors said Monday at the suspect’s arraignment in Supreme Court.
The deranged Brooklyn lunatic came out of nowhere, spit on Kazmi, who was speaking on the phone, and called him a “fucking Muslim,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bayley.
When Kazmi asked Grinblat what he was doing, the suspect shouted more anti-Islamic insults at him before telling him he was a “terrorist, a damned Muslim and should go back to Asia,” prosecutors said.
Grinblat then allegedly punched Kazmi, who lives in Hewlett, Louisiana, in the face several times.
Kazmi, who recorded the altercation on his phone, followed the alleged Muslim hater into the Fifth Avenue/53rd Street subway station, according to a video obtained by The Post.
Grinblat – wearing a grey hurley cap, navy shirt and khaki shorts – appeared to give Kazmi the middle finger while telling him to “suck a dick.”
As the footage shows, a bloodied Kazmi followed Grinblat further underground to ask him why he had hit him. Grinblat repeatedly shouted “Death to all Muslims!” before dropping his bag and continuing to beat Kazmi.
The madman then fled the scene before being arrested at home three days later, court documents say.
“As alleged, David Grinblat attacked a man because of his perceived religion and nationality and verbally abused him with racist, anti-Muslim language,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “We will continue to hold accountable those who commit acts of hate that have no place in our city.”
Grinblat also faces two criminal damage charges in Brooklyn. Court records show he was arrested on May 30 for allegedly throwing a glass bottle of wine through a window.
He was charged with two counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment for the August 5 attack.
According to prosecutors, Kazmi suffered a bloody lip and a cut on his face in the attack.
Grinblat had already been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, where a judge released him on probation despite prosecutors demanding $30,000 bail.
He was indicted and ordered to appear in Supreme Court to face charges. Prosecutors again attempted to have Grinblat jailed on $30,000 cash bail.
But Grinblat, who pleaded not guilty to the hate crime charge, was released on probation by then-Judge Laura Ward after his lawyer Geoffrey Bickford successfully argued that he had “scored 1,000 points for complying with court orders” issued following the previous hearing.
Grinblat, who was seen in the courtroom on Monday with a backpack over his face and his mother by his side, freaked out in the hallway because he didn’t want the press to take photos of him.
“Fuck off!” Grinblat repeatedly told a group of reporters while covering his face and flipping the photographers the bird.
If convicted of the hate crime, Grinblat faces a longer prison sentence of up to four years.
He is due to appear in court again on November 20.
