A New York County public defender will get to keep her job after apologizing for brazenly tearing down posters of hostages missing in the Israel-Hamas war, her employer said.
Attorney Victoria Ruiz had been captured in a viral video last week ripping down one of the many posters plastered across the Big Apple since the terrorist organization attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
In the clip, Ruiz ignores the person behind the camera who is repeatedly asking, “Why are you taking down pictures of missing children?”
Ruiz was identified as the person tearing down the posters in the video by nonprofit watchdog StopAntisemitism.
When contacted by The Post, the New York County Defender Services, condemned Ruiz’s actions as “highly insensitive.”
“It has come to our attention that one of our attorneys, Victoria Ruiz, recently attended a public vigil solely in her capacity as a private citizen,” Lupe Todd-Medina, spokesperson for New York County Defender Services, said in a statement to The Post.
NYC – New York County public defender Victoria Ruiz caught removing posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
It is absolutely unacceptable for someone with such bias and hate to serve in your office @nyc_defenders pic.twitter.com/mOwajkuArt
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 5, 2023
“Some of her actions at the event have drawn sharp criticism and we strongly condemn them as highly insensitive.”
But following an internal investigation into the incident, NYCDS accepted Ruiz’s apology and her promise to “do better.”
“Ms. Ruiz has apologized to those who were hurt or confused by her actions. After an internal review, and a pledge by all involved to do better, we accept this apology and now refocus on the vigorous pursuit of our mission: achieving justice and dignity for every individual we represent,” Todd-Medina said.
Ruiz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Countless individuals have been filmed tearing down or vandalizing posters of children and adults taken hostage in the Israel-Hamas war in New York City.
Among the offenders are an NYU student who lost their job over the scandal and a Brooklyn man who was arrested after getting into a caught-on-video scuffle while trying to callously rip down the hostage posters.
