A Bronx man who was described as a “migrant” and a “shoplifter” by Curtis Sliwa during a live TV beatdown by his Guardian Angels in Times Square last month says he is fighting back — with a lawsuit and criminal complaint against the vigilante group.
Marco Pina, 22, who emigrated with his family from Mexico 20 years ago when he was a toddler, said New York City is the only home he knows and he deserved better.
“I’ve never lived anywhere else,” Pina said in a statement nearly a month after he clashed with members of the Angels during a live Fox News broadcast.
“I work to support my child and I’ve never broken the law. Now I will tell my story to the [district attorney] and will seek justice, I’m not afraid anymore,” he added.
Pina crossed paths with the Angels on Feb. 7 as Sliwa, their longtime leader, was being interviewed in prime time by Fox News host Sean Hannity about crime in the area.
A group of Angels sporting their signature red berets and bomber jackets broke away to tend to an off-screen disturbance.
At Sliwa’s direction, the camera panned to show them confronting Pina, pushing him to the sidewalk and placing him in a headlock.
As the camera rolled, Sliwa labeled the man a “migrant.”
“Our guys have just taken down one of the migrant guys on the corner of 42nd and Seventh where all of this has taken place,” Sliwa told Hannity as he threw his hands in the air.
“They’ve taken over!”
Sliwa also called Pina a “shoplifter,” an allegation cops could not substantiate.
“Let’s just say we gave him a little pain compliance,” Sliwa, the 2021 GOP mayoral candidate, continued during the broadcast. “His mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations. He’s sucking concrete.”
In a Tuesday statement, Sliwa repeated claims that Pina initiated the encounter by “pushing and shoving through the film crew despite being told by the security of the film crew to ‘please stay back’ repeatedly.
“The Guardian Angels stand against hate and we pride ourselves on our diversity and inclusivity,” he added.
Police said Pina was issued a summons for disorderly conduct because he was acting in “a loud, threatening manner causing public alarm.”
Pina said he feared that his immigration status would be in jeopardy if he stood up to a well-known man like Sliwa.
“It has taken me some time to come forward,” he said. “I’m a nobody in this city, Curtis Sliwa is famous. I was intimidated and scared since I’m only protected by DACA, a temporary permit for immigrants like myself that arrived here as babies.”
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), established by the Obama administration in 2012, offers a lifeline to specific undocumented individuals in the United States, particularly for those who entered the country as minors. The policy provides them with a renewable two-year reprieve from deportation and the chance to obtain work permit eligibility.
The incident came amid rising tensions in New York City, where officials have struggled to handle an ongoing rise in migrant arrivals for more than a year.
In one high-profile incident, a group of migrants attacked two NYPD officers outside a shelter in Times Square on Jan. 27, sparking outrage.
Pina’s lawyer, Patricia Lynch, said Pina continues to suffer from the Angels’ beatdown.
“The incident aired live on Sean Hannity, where millions of people watched Mr. Marco Pina being thrown to the ground and put into an illegal chokehold, and for Mr. Pina to have his character and reputation assaulted after this horrific incident was tantamount to pouring salt in his wound,” said Lynch, a lawyer at Sacco & Fillas.
Pina plans to file a civil suit in Manhattan Supreme Court along with making a complaint with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The DA’s office previously said it’s investigating the incident.
Pina also received support from Hispanics Across America spokesman Fernando Mateo, who was defeated by Sliwa in the 2021 Republican mayoral primary.
“He’s not a recent immigrant. He’s not a looter, not a thief,” Mateo said of Pina. “He was body-slammed and his face was pushed against the concrete. His friends who tried to support him were pushed to the streets.”
