When courts won't act to protect communities, the DIY crowd will

Vigilantes deliver street justice to brute who grabbed, attacked woman on NYC subway platform

Wild new video shows the moment a crew of vigilantes delivered street justice to a brute who grabbed and bear-hugged a young woman at a Brooklyn subway station — only for the menace to be cut loose in court a day later.

Fredrick Marshall, 42, a complete stranger, allegedly followed the 20-year-old woman onto the Manhattan-bound J train platform at Norwood Avenue in Cypress Hills around 9 a.m. Sunday, when he started arguing with her.

Now-viral video posted by TikTok user @nicabori5 shows the hulking brute, wearing all white, grabbing the woman as she tried to walk away.

The victim began to scream for help, prompting several men to gather on the elevated platform. 

“Let her go!” one yelled. 

But that didn’t deter Marshall, who allegedly shoved the woman to the ground and bear-hugged her as she attempted to run away a second time, according to cops and prosecutors.

That’s when the bystanders jumped in and pulled the victim away from the violent menace, police said. 

They appeared to pummel him on the platform as one of the vigilantes yelled, “I’m gonna f–k you up!”

Their intervention allowed the shaken victim to escape, and she could be seen crying on the phone with her mom as she ran to the other end of the platform. 

“Get that, n—a!” one of the Samaritans yelled as he backed off, according to the video.

“Somebody try to tell you something, chill the f–k out? Now you got it!”

The woman was treated on scene by EMS for shoulder pain and minor injuries to her stomach and arms, police said. 

And of course …

Marshall was [eventually] arrested at the scene and found to be carrying a knife and a blackjack, cops said. 

He was charged with third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment, according to a criminal complaint.

Marshall — who cops say has no prior arrests — was granted supervised release during his arraignment the next day, as the charges are not bail-eligible, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

It’s a fine video — check it out at the link — but here’s the point as I see it: no cops were there to protect her, and there are no longer laws in NY and similar jurisdictions that will keep this crazy from doing it again. Perhaps the defund the police advocates like AOC and Mamdani have a point: abolish the cops and the court system, and bring back the Statute of Winchester circa 1285. I especially like the part that requires every man to keep and maintain arms, though I’d modernize it to include women now, too.

The Statute of Winchester was enacted in response to rising crime rates in medieval England. The law established a system of local law enforcement that required each county to appoint a group of officials known as the “hue and cry” to pursue and apprehend criminals. The hue and cry consisted of ordinary citizens who were required to respond to the call for assistance by raising an alarm and chasing down the criminal.

In addition to the hue and cry, the Statute of Winchester introduced other important provisions to improve law and order. It required every man to own and maintain arms, such as a longbow or a crossbow, in order to assist with law enforcement efforts. It also established a system of watch and ward, which required every town and village to have a group of citizens who would keep watch and protect the community from criminals.