NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Manhattan public defender who was captured on camera tearing down posters of hostages kidnapped during Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel, has resigned, a representative for the New York County Defender Services told 1010 WINS exclusively Tuesday.
Ruiz's colleagues were informed Tuesday in a memo by NYCDS executive director Stan Germán, sources said, adding that the incident had polarized the staff. The decision to leave was her own, sources said.
1010 WINS has reached out to Ruiz for comment on her resignation.
In the video, posted by the non-partisan StopAntisemitism X account, Ruiz is spotted smirking tearing down posters, while someone asks, "Why are you taking down pictures of missing children? Why are you taking down pictures of babies?" Ruiz never answers and instead walks away and smirks.
When contacted by 1010 WINS on Monday, prior to Ruiz's resignation, NYCDS spokesperson Lupe Todd-Medina said, "It has come to our attention that one of our attorneys, Victoria Ruiz, recently attended a public vigil solely in her capacity as a private citizen. Some of her actions at the event have drawn sharp criticism and we strongly condemn them as highly insensitive."
Todd-Medina added that Ruiz had "apologized to those who were hurt or confused by her actions. After an internal review, and a pledge by all involved to do better, we accept this apology and now refocus on the vigorous pursuit of our mission: achieving justice and dignity for every individual we represent.”
In her apology note obtained by 1010 WINS, Ruiz wrote, "I apologize to anyone who was hurt or confused by my actions at a vigil last week that were depicted in a video that went viral over the weekend."
She added, "This viral video misrepresented my actions and has led to false accusations. I regret taking down two posters that had egregious depictions and words justifying killing children."
When contacted by 1010 WINS about Ruiz, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said, "As I’ve repeatedly said over the last month, the October 7 attacks on Israel were abhorrent, and every hostage should be immediately released to their family. As we see the fallout from this violence spill over into New York City, we must reiterate that hate has absolutely no place here. Tearing down a poster of a hostage is a deeply misguided act of disrespect to victims of terrorism. I stand firmly with all the innocent civilians caught in the middle of a war they did not ask for and the New Yorkers managing the fallout."