A protester opposed to newly-elected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's progressive criminal justice reforms poured fake blood outside his office Tuesday, symbolically representing the recent victims of violence that has shaken the city and led to officials' demands to restore law and order.
The man, identified as artist Scott Lolaido, was captured on video outside the downtown Manhattan office displaying a pink toddler's coat, a pair of women’s shoes, and a police officer’s hat on the ground. As he pours stage blood on the sidewalk, he is heard railing against Bragg.
"This is the blood of the innocent people of New York City getting slaughtered because of DA Bragg," he said to onlookers. "Eleven-month-old girl shot in the face because of woke criminal-loving district attorneys like Alvin Bragg!"
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Artist Scott Lolaido poured stage blood on the street outside of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office Tuesday to protest his progressive policies amid a surge in violence. (Joe LaRusso)
"He's got blood on his (expletive) hands," he added. "Take the guns off the streets? It ain't the (expletive) guns. It's the (expletives) who use the guns that Alvin Bragg lets loose on the (expletive) street."
Before he could finish his performance, Lobaido was escorted by officials into the building and given a summons. As he was taken away, he said he was performing street art.
A spokesperson for Bragg's office told Fox News that they were not aware of the incident. The New York Police Department told Fox News no arrest was made in connection with the incident.
The shoes Lobaido displayed apparently represented Michelle Go, a woman who was pushed in front of a train in the Times Square subway station on Jan. 15. Bragg has come under heavy criticism after he directed his staff to no longer seek jail time for many offenses and to downgrade certain felonies, including armed robberies of commercial businesses.
The policies came as New York City has been racked by a series of shootings and deaths, including the deaths of two police officers. On Jan. 19, an 11-month-old baby girl was shot in the face when she was struck by crossfire while with her mother inside a car near where two men were fighting, police said.
Two days later, two NYPD officers were shot while responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Jason Rivera, 22, died that night and his partner, Wilbert Mora, 27, succumbed to his injuries, officials said Tuesday. The suspect was killed by a third officer.
Days earlier, a 16-year-old shot another officer in the Bronx. Five NYPD officers have been shot in 2022, as of Tuesday. Overall, shootings have increased 16% this year compared to the same time frame in 2021.
The gunplay prompted Mayor Eric Adams on Monday to release a plan to combat gun violence and the flow of illegal guns. The plan includes bringing back the NYPD's controversial anti-crime unit.
Bragg has blamed the uptick in violence on guns on a lack of gun control measures and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"Amidst this incalculable flood of trauma and loss from the Covid-19 pandemic, violence has spiked across the country. Gun violence in particular spanned red and blue cities, states with criminal justice reforms laws and those without, jurisdictions with progressive prosecutors and those old-school conservative DAs," the spokesperson said Monday.
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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