Rangers Fan Arrested

A New York Rangers fan is facing assault charges after a video of him severely sucker-punching a Tampa Bay Lightning fan following the Rangers’ playoff loss Thursday, June 9 night went viral.

Tampa Bay scored twice in the dying minutes to beat the Rangers 3-1 at Madison Square Garden, taking a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference final game.

As spectators exited the stadium following the game, two individuals appeared to get into a verbal altercation.

According to a video released on Twitter, the Rangers fan who was identified as Anastasio then whirled around and unleashed a devastating left punch to the Tampa supporter’s face, flattening him.

https://twitter.com/ScottKaplanOn/status/1535107815014076424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1535107815014076424%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnewyork.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fcrime-and-courts%2Frangers-fan-arrested-for-brutal-sucker-punch-of-tampa-fan-after-game-5-loss%2F3729041%2F

While James Anastasio, 29, of Staten Island, was still at MSG, police and security were able to apprehend him. Anastasio is charged with two charges of assault, disorderly conduct, and harassment.

Madison Square Garden condemned the “heinous assault” and said that Anastasio would be banned from all MSG Entertainment properties for life.