Steve Buscemi’s alleged attacker is due in court on Thursday to face assault charges
Authorities have arrested and charged the lead suspect accused of punching actor Steve Buscemi in the face two weeks ago on the streets of Manhattan.
Clifton Williams, a 50-year-old unhoused man, is being held on $50,000 cash bail and is set to appear in court Thursday for assaulting two people just minutes apart on May 8 in broad daylight.
Williams was arrested on May 17 and faces charges of third-degree assault with a misdemeanor for attacking a 22-year-old unidentified male and second-degree assault for punching Buscemi, 66, in the face, according to the New York City Police Department. Williams identified himself as the attacker in both incidents, according to a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Buscemi, a character actor known for films such as Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” and TV series such as “Boardwalk Empire,” was standing and looking at his phone when a closed fist suddenly struck him, causing him to fall to the ground, according to authorities. He later sought treatment at Bellevue Hospital for his bloodied and bruised left eye.
Williams faces a felony for assaulting an adult over 65, which carries a two-year minimum sentence in the state of New York. According to NYPD, Williams has no prior record of arrests or jail time and it’s unclear what his mental state was at the time. Buscemi’s publicist decried it as a “random act of violence.”
Statistics from NYPD show that overall crime is down as of April 2024 compared to the same time last year, but misdemeanor assaults have risen, the New York Times reported.
