On September 21, 2025, Alex O’Keefe — an award-winning Black screenwriter best known for The Bear — was pulled off an MTA train, handcuffed, and detained after a white woman reportedly complained about how he was sitting.

Alex was not breaking any laws.

He had no weapons, no threats, no disturbances.

His only “offense”? Making a fellow passenger uncomfortable.

Video of the incident shows Alex calmly asserting his rights, asking what law he broke, and questioning why he was the only person being removed.

He was arrested — and released — without police ever taking a statement from the woman who made the complaint.

We’ve seen this before. It’s part of a painful, ongoing pattern in this country — where Black people are criminalized in everyday spaces based on nothing more than discomfort or bias.

We demand action.

We call on:

• The New York State Attorney General and U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to open a civil rights investigation into Alex O’Keefe’s wrongful arrest
• The MTA and NYPD to adopt immediate reforms to prevent arrests based on unverified complaints
• A full public accounting of the officers and conductor involved — and whether proper protocol was followed
   

No one should be arrested just for sitting differently.

No one should be handcuffed because someone else felt “uncomfortable.”

And no one should have their freedom taken without cause — especially on public transit.

Sign this petition to demand justice for Alex O’Keefe — and real accountability from NY Transit for racially biased arrests.