Lawyer caught on camera beating an Asian commuter on NYC subway insists she was the VICTIM

A lawyer who was caught on camera beating another woman on the New York City subway has broken her silence to defend her actions that were caught on shocking video.

Anna Lushchinskaya, 40, spoke out for the first time since her arrest in the December 11 attack on a Brooklyn D train, telling Inside Edition that she was actually the victim in the incident.

‘The video didn’t start in the beginning,’ Lushchinskaya said of the cell phone video that showed her screaming at 26-year-old Michelle Tung and beating the woman with an umbrella as other straphangers tried to hold her back.

Video from the bizarre incident, shot by podcaster Juan Ayala, does not show what led to the altercation at 7.50am on the crowded train during the morning commute.  

Anna Lushchinskaya, 40, returned to the subway for this interview with Inside Edition, speaking out for the first time since the December 11 incident

Lushchinskaya is seen screaming 'f**k off, f**k off' at the woman standing beside her

She then takes her sunglasses off and pulls her hair back as if preparing for battle

Anna Lushchinskaya is seen screaming ‘f**k off, f**k off’ at the woman standing beside her, and then takes her sunglasses off and pulls her hair back as if preparing for battle

Passengers were also shocked by Lushchinskaya’s racial insults, including calling Tung, who is Asian, ‘c**nk’ and referring to Ayala, who is Dominican, as ‘Mohamed Atta’ as he filmed and heckled her.

Atta was one of the ringleaders of the attacks on 9/11 and piloted the first plane to strike the World Trade Center. 

Asked if she regretted using the language, Lushinskaya said: ‘No, I defended myself to the best of my abilities.’

She said it was ‘too bad’ if anyone was offended, adding ‘that’s their opinion.’ 

‘How am I crazy?’ she asked. ‘What is the reason I need to step out of the subway if I’m being attacked? What’s the reason I need to do that?’  

Video of the shocking incident was seen by more than 12 million people.

Passengers hold Lushchinskaya back, before she shocks the crowded train by shouting 'f**king ch**k' at the other woman, who is Asian

Passengers hold Lushchinskaya back, before she shocks the crowded train by shouting 'f**king ch**k' at the other woman, who is Asian

Passengers hold Lushchinskaya back, before she shocks the crowded train by shouting ‘f**king ch**k’ at the other woman, who is Asian

Lushchinskaya wields her small umbrella as a cudgel and continues to try to kick the other woman as other straphangers hold her back

Lushchinskaya wields her small umbrella as a cudgel and continues to try to kick the other woman as other straphangers hold her back

Lushchinskaya wields her small umbrella as a cudgel and continues to try to kick the other woman as other straphangers hold her back

Lushchinskaya is seen screaming ‘f**k off, f**k off’ at the woman standing beside her, who is silent and appears preoccupied with her phone. 

The blonde lawyer appears to begin preparing for combat by taking her sunglasses and gloves off, pulling her hair back, and whipping out her umbrella from her Louis Vuitton bag. 

After a minute of such agitated preparations, Lushchinskaya suddenly kicks the other woman, who kicks her back.

Other passengers intervene and try to break up the fight. ‘Yo lady, just chill out ok?’ one says, while another shouts ‘please stop’.

‘You’re not letting me hit her back!’ complains Lushchinskaya, who goes on to call a man who is trying to stop her ‘f**king retarded’.

Lushchinskaya wields her small umbrella as a cudgel and continues to try to kick the other passenger as others hold her back.

Juan Ayala, 31, performed a citizen's arrest after restraining Lushchinskaya

Juan Ayala, 31, performed a citizen's arrest after restraining Lushchinskaya

Juan Ayala, 31, performed a citizen’s arrest after restraining Lushchinskaya

Lushchinskaya was arrested and charged with felony assault in the underground incident

Juan Ayala, who filmed the video, detained the woman at the station until police arrived

‘You’re going to make us all late for work, b***h,’ one man says.

Lushchinskaya spits on the floor and again screams ‘f**k off’ as she flicks off the woman she had been trying to fight.

‘F**king ch**k,’ Lushchinskaya then screamed at her foe, drawing gasps from the crowded train.

Eventually, she was detained by Ayala in a citizen’s arrest, and handed over to police at the 36th Street Station.

Lushchinskaya was charged with attempted assault, harassment and menacing. 

She also has a prior arrest for allegedly assaulting a passenger on the subway using pepper spray in June. 

Lushchinskaya is due in Kings County Criminal Court on January 22 to respond to charges in both cases. 

Another woman posted this image the day before Lushchinskaya's arrest. It appears to be of her getting into a separate altercation on a different train

Another woman posted this image the day before Lushchinskaya’s arrest. It appears to be of her getting into a separate altercation on a different train

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