ASBURY PARK – A Scotch Plains man accused of pepper-spraying a transgender person on the eve of an anti-hate rally in the city smiled in court Friday as his attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf to simple assault and petty disorderly conduct.

Morris James May, 22, flashed smiles at a news camera throughout the brief proceeding before Muncipal Court Judge Daniel J. DiBenedetto, who set Nov. 30 as a trial date on the charges.



May’s attorney, Mark Gertner, said afterward that neither he nor his client wished to comment.

May's accuser, Allie Koralik, 34, of Long Branch, was not present in court, said Municipal Prosecutor James N. Butler.

Butler said the charges had been downgraded from aggravated assault and possession of a weapon, which are both indictable offenses.

Simple assault carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, and petty disorderly conduct carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, Butler said.

Koralik alleged being pepper-sprayed by May on the evening of Sept. 3 after trying to engage him in conversation outside Gift, an Ocean Avenue shop and art space where volunteers were making signs for the city’s “Stand Against Hate’’ rally the next day.

The rally, held on Labor Day at Springwood Park, was planned in response to violence that broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August during a “Unite the Right’’ rally. A woman was killed and 19 others were injured at the Charlottesville rally when a 20-year-old man drove a car into a group of counter-protestors.

Karalik alleged that on the eve of Asbury Park’s anti-hate rally, May and another man were harassing rally volunteers.

Contacted by the Asbury Park Press on Sept. 4, May claimed self-defense.

“I did not attend that meeting to start any trouble,’’ he told a reporter. “I did not go there intending to inflict harm on anyone. I acted only in self-defense.’’

Karalik, in an interview the same day, said May was saying, “I hate liberals. I hate you people. You’re trying to take away our rights."

The victim claimed to be doused with pepper spray by May after telling him, “That’s enough.’’ Karalik rinsed off the spray inside Gift and did not seek medical treatment.

During the incident, May was wearing a shirt that read, “For those about to MAGA, we salute you,’’ emblazoned with a drawing of Pepe the Frog. MAGA, or Make America Great Again, was President Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan.

During 2016, the cartoon frog became increasing associated with alt-right and neo-Nazi propaganda, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Kathleen Hopkins: 732-643-4202; Khopkins@app.com



