NYC police arrest man after officers were pelted during a snowball fight

NEW YORK (AP) — A social media content creator was arrested Thursday after New York City police said he was one of a number of people who pelted officers with snow and ice during a massive snowball fight in Washington Square Park this week.

Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, and harassment, a non-criminal violation.

He appeared in handcuffs and wearing an olive-green sweat suit during his arraignment Thursday evening in Manhattan criminal court. He wasn’t asked to enter a plea, and was released, pending his next court date on April 9.

Coulibaly didn’t speak during the brief hearing, which was attended by at least a dozen uniformed police officers and police union officials.

But George Vomvolakis, his attorney, told the judge that the “circumstances surrounding his arrest have been politicized.” He suggested Coulibaly was caught in the middle of a rift between the police department and city hall.

“I don’t want to minimize what happened to the officers, but I think the police department is using this because of their dislike or disdain for the mayor,” Vomvolakis said. “I think they’re taking it out on Mr. Coulibaly. They want to pick a fight with the mayor.”

He maintained there was no evidence that there were rocks or ice packed into the snowballs hurled at officers, as th...