Today, following a recent report that a man pledged to commit more violent hate crimes after he is released from jail for assaulting a Jewish man in Midtown, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang released the following statement:

“Releasing someone who not only committed one heinous and violent anti-Semitic hate crime, but showed no remorse and pledged to do so again, is unconscionable.

“Every single day, we see hateful acts go unchecked that lead to violence on our streets and in our subways. Verbal attacks one day escalate to brutal assaults the next. Considering the unprecedented and devastating recent spike in hate crimes against Jewish, Muslim and Asian New Yorkers across the City, it’s clear we need to exempt hate crimes from the bail reform measures enacted by the State last year. We need to send an absolute and clear message that those who commit hateful acts will be held accountable.

“We must also recognize that many who commit hate crimes have serious mental health needs, and we need to drastically expand services to get them help. To that end, I believe the recently extended Kendra’s Law must be supplemented with real outpatient services to meet people with mental health needs where they are.”