The image of a woman being assaulted while peacefully protesting a campaign event for New York Governor Kathy Hochul has sparked outrage during the last weekend before Election Day.
A still image taken from a recording of the attack shows a man grabbing Angelica Torres by the neck outside of the event at Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Torres had been carrying a "Vote Them Out" sign at the Nov. 5 event until it was pulled from her grip. When she went to retrieve the item, Torres says the man approached her and put his hand around her neck. She told Fox News another person, New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson, also grabbed her by the arm.
"I was treated like a subhuman. Like my feelings didn’t matter… Like just because I have an opinion that is different from theirs, they have a right to act violent against me,” said Torres, who supports Representative Lee Zeldin for New York governor.
"I was there peacefully. I was there just voicing my opinion. And, you know, I didn't want to hurt anyone," Torres added. "I believe in freedom. And just because, you know, people try to bully me and intimidate me doesn't mean I'm going to change my stance on, you know, my morals and my beliefs."
The New York City Police Department told Fox News on Nov. 7 that the man was trying to help Torres. He has not been publicly identified.
“We were just there, just, you know, exercising our First Amendment," Torres said during the interview. "We just wanted our voices to be heard."
"I felt like my voice was trying to be silenced," she said. "I think it's disgraceful what happened… We're supposed to have a middle ground where we can have agreements and have disagreements, but always be respectful."
"I hope people understand that things are getting, you know, really bad in like the political field… We can't have civil conversation… We can’t have debates without it getting violent,” Torres continued. “I feel like they started to happen with Antifa. And unfortunately, people keep ignoring it like this isn't happening and now it's just going to escalate. And more and more."
Torres received medical treatment from first responders and has not reported permanent injuries.
Zeldin, who has made fighting crime a central promise to his constituents, condemned the violence at Hochul’s rally as well as the incumbent governor’s decision not to react.
“Her continued silence on her supporter choking out a woman simply exercising her First Amendment rights makes her complicit in this attack,” Zeldin wrote.
Hochul has not commented on the incident at the event, although he shared photos of the assembled crowd.
