*Screenwriter Alex O’Keefe, known for his work on the FX series “The Bear,” was forcibly removed from an MTA train, handcuffed, and detained following a complaint from an elderly white woman about how he was seated.
“I was arrested on the @MTA train to Connecticut today, pulled off, handcuffed, and detained,” O’Keefe shared in an Instagram post. The incident, which he documented in a video, has gained significant attention, as O’Keefe can be heard confronting the situation, stating, “You’re gonna arrest the one Black dude on the train, because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train.”
He further emphasized, “You call the police to arrest the one Black dude on the train,” and asserted, “I haven’t done anything illegal.” According to O’Keefe’s Instagram caption, the woman pointed at him immediately after boarding and demanded he adjust his seating, and when he refused, she reported him to the conductor, who then involved the police.
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O’Keefe recounted the escalation in his post: “An old white woman got on the train and immediately pointed at me and told me to correct how I was sitting. I refused, so she went to the conductor and complained. The conductor called the police and stopped the train.” He also noted that the woman’s friend remarked, “You’re not the minority anymore,” during the altercation. The police, he claimed, did not question the woman before detaining him, stating, “They pulled me off the train and arrested me without even talking to the Karen who reported the one black person on the train.”
As Newsweek reports, the incident has fueled online discussions about racial bias, with many drawing parallels to other viral cases where white individuals have called police on people of color over minor or non-issues. O’Keefe described the police’s reasoning, writing, “The police told me to leave the train, I refused and asked what was I doing illegally. They said I was disturbing the peace by not leaving the train.”
Public reactions have been swift and supportive. Anna Morgan, a DJ, commented on O’Keefe’s Instagram post: “Really hope you sue that lady, the conductor, each one of those officers, and the precinct. Make them pay this is insane.”
O’Keefe explained in his post that only Black bystanders stayed to record the event, and after he demanded a lawyer, the police released him.
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