Man charged with attacking police in Times Square, vilified in Trump ad, was misidentified, DA says

A Venezuelan man who became the subject of national attention for allegedly kicking a police officer in Times Square, then flipping off news cameras on his way out of court, was cleared of wrongdoing on Friday after prosecutors concluded he played no role in the attack.

The stunning exoneration by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg came weeks after Jhoan Boada, 22, was widely vilified as the “smug” face of a Jan. 27th brawl between migrants and New York City police officers that touched off widespread political furor.

He featured prominently in a pro-Trump political ad titled “Joe Biden’s middle finger,” which ended on a freeze frame of Boada making the gesture while leaving his initial arraignment.

In a Manhattan courtroom Friday, prosecutors told a judge that further investigation proved Boada did not participate in the attack. The man seen in the video kicking an officer with pink shoes – initially identified by police as Boada – is now believed to be a separate person. That man has been charged and is awaiting criminal arraignment.

An attorney for Boada, Javier Damien, said his client was the victim of a “rush to judgment” by media, police, and elected officials. “It was a political football, and people were attacked with a broad brush,” he said. “It’s very sad.”

Boada, who lives in the city’s homeless shelter, had maintained his innocence from the start. During his arraignment on Jan. 31, his attorney told the judge that Boada had requested the surveillance footage of the incident be shared widely because “everybody who watches the videotape will not see him on there."

Prosecutors agreed to release him without bail, noting that he did not have a criminal history and that they were still working “to conduct a