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The guy cops say was caught on camera viciously beating an elderly Asian woman to the ground and kicking her in the head has been arrested ... and he's facing several hate crime and assault charges.

According to law enforcement ... cops arrested 38-year-old Brandon Elliot shortly after midnight Wednesday, and he's been booked on 2 counts of assault as a hate crime.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... during questioning Elliot identified himself as the man in the still image police released. We're told he repeatedly asked investigators if he was being questioned for an assault or a homicide, because he didn't know if the victim had died.

He's also been charged with attempted assault as a hate crime, assault and attempted assault for Monday's vicious attack in Midtown Manhattan on the 65-year-old woman who was walking to church.

According to police, Elliot was ID'd and investigators determined where he lived thanks to multiple tips to the NYPD CrimeStoppers Unit. Turns out he has a serious record ... we're told Elliot's already on lifetime parole for the 2002 murder of his mother. He was released in November 2019.

As we reported ... the attack on the woman was witnessed by building staff members nearby, who can be seen on video failing to help her. Cops say the attacker made anti-Asian statements like "F*** you, you don't belong here," and then left the scene like nothing happened.

We're told the victim suffered a broken pelvis and head and leg injuries.

The workers who did nothing to help her were suspended, according to the company that manages the building, while an investigation into their conduct is underway.

A source close to Ice Cube tells TMZ ... “This is Robinhood exhibiting lack of respect for the law or the people they hurt. Ice Cube did NOT license his image nor his lyrics printed next to his picture, and would never endorse Robinhood. When asked to take it down because he was offended, Robinhood refused. In addition, calling blatant propaganda for Robinhood's trading app and online services merely 'editorial use' shows someone needs to send their lawyer back to school.”

It might be Ice Cube who needs to check HIMSELF -- because Robinhood is setting the record straight on how they came to use that photo of him in their Snacks newsletter ... telling TMZ, "No, we didn't use his image without permission. The image was licensed and used for non-commercial, editorial purposes in connection with a blog article."

Ice Cube is about to melt -- the dude is heated because he says Robinhood used his face to plug their services without his permission ... so now he's taking them to court over it.

The rapper just filed suit against the financial services company -- which a lot of people use to buy and trade stocks -- for allegedly using a photo of him in an ad featured in their news service, Robinhood Snacks, just this past month.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Cube claims Robinhood took an image of him from another project he'd worked on ... and slapped it into a newsletter update talking about stock/market corrections -- and captioned it with a riff on a famous lyric from one of his songs.

The quote ... "Correct yourself, before you wreck yourself" -- which is obviously a play on his famous track "Check Yo Self." Cube says that by the company inserting his image and likeness into their Snacks service, they falsely associated him with their brand ... making it seem like he endorses them, which he makes more than clear here -- he does NOT.

Cube goes so far as to say Robinhood is the "antithesis of everything that Ice Cube stands for" and refers to their products and services as "horrible." He goes on to claim Robinhood has a habit of doing this ... namely, linking celebs and other rappers -- like Jay-Z and Nas -- to endorse its products and services ... but Cube makes it clear he wants no part of that.

IC's also got a theory on why he believes Robinhood roped him in here -- he says his biz partner, Jeff Kwatinetz, has been railing on the company (both in public and in his own lawsuit against them) ... and suggests this is Robinhood's way of sticking it to both of 'em.

Chet Hanks and an ex-girlfriend are at war over a volatile relationship that recently ended -- with both of them slinging allegations of violence, and there's video of a bloodied Hanks.

TMZ has obtained video of what Chet says is the end of an altercation between him and his ex, Kiana Parker, that turned violent back on January 8 at Chet's place in Sugarland, TX. Chet turns the camera on Kiana when she appears to swipe at him as she holds a pot, with a bloodied Chet reappearing in the next frame, saying she charged at him with the knife ... something Kiana denies.

Chet's not the only one to claim violence ... Kiana got a restraining order against Chet in January, alleging he roughed her up on multiple occasions between Oct. 2020 and Jan. 2021.

During one incident, while the couple was in New Orleans for Chet to shoot "Your Honor," Kiana claims he became enraged when she said she was going to leave their room at the Windsor Court hotel to get food ... grabbing her wrists and arms and flinging her around to keep her in the room. Chet denies the allegations and says he never even knew she went to court for a TRO.

She says tables were knocked over and he chucked a bottle at her ... even claiming he chased her down the hallway in his boxers. She also alleges he told her that no one would believe her, because she was "just a ghetto Black bitch" and he was "Chet Hanks."

For his part ... Chet recently filed a lawsuit against Kiana over January's bloody face incident. He says it started when he broke things off with Kiana after learning she'd allegedly been stealing from him, racking up thousands of dollars on his credit cards ... and making off with a ton of his property too.

Chet goes on to claim Kiana showed up that day with three men, one of whom he says flashed a gun at him. He's suing her for assault and battery, theft and return of the money she allegedly stole from him.

As for Kiana's version of the January 8 incident ... she says in docs she came by Chet's place to get her stuff with movers in tow. She says Chet was antagonizing her, and he grabbed a knife in a menacing way. That's when she says she grabbed a pot in self-defense and swung it ... making a run for it shortly thereafter. She claims he chased her out to the street, where she says he attacked her right there in the open ... until others came to her aid.

Chet shares a child with another Black woman named Tiffany -- and just recently ... he alluded to the fact he's really into Black women, this as he offered a follow-up explainer to his controversial "white boy summer" clip ... which went viral.

Kiana's attorney, D'Angelo Lowe, tells TMZ ... Kiana is under a doctor's care at the moment, and that she's tried serving Chet to no avail ... even having gone so far as to reach out to his parents, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, over the TRO she's trying to make permanent.

Donald Trump's being sued by 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers who claim the ex-Prez "inflamed" the insurrectionist mob, which they say nearly led to their deaths on January 6.

James Blassingame, a 17-year veteran, and Sidney Hemby, an 11-year veteran, just filed a lawsuit against Trump claiming they suffered horrific injuries and they're laying the blame squarely at his feet.

In the suit, the cops claim Trump incited the January 6 riot by getting his followers riled up about trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Hemby says the riot resulted in him being "crushed against the doors on the east side" while "trying to hold the insurrectionists back." He claims he suffered cuts and abrasions on his face, hands and body while the mob attacked.

Blassingame claims he was slammed against a stone column, injuring his spine and the back of his head. In addition to the physical attack, he says people were yelling and repeatedly calling him a n****r.

In the suit, Blassingame also says he's "haunted by the memory of being attacked, and of the sensory impacts – the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of the attack remain close to the surface." He adds that he has survivor's guilt because he was unable to help some of his fellow officers ... some of whom lost their lives due to the insurrection.

As for Trump's responsibility for the attack ... both officers point to his December 19 tweet where he said, "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there. Will be wild!" They assert that was a battle cry ... "taken by many of [Trump's] supporters as a literal call to arms.”

A man is wanted for brutally assaulting an Asian woman in New York City in the middle of the day, and what's just as appalling is what didn't happen ... nobody jumped in to lend a hand.

Law enforcement sources say this went down Monday in Midtown Manhattan, where a 65-year-old woman was on her way to church ... when, all of a sudden, a complete stranger kicks her down to the ground and starts stomping her out. Before you know it, he flees the scene like nothing happened, but surveillance video captured the violence.

Cops say the guy made anti-Asian statements like, "F*** you, you don't belong here." The man has yet to be identified or arrested, but cops are on the lookout -- and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.

Police did release this close-up shot of who they believe is responsible -- they're asking for the public's help to find him.

As for the woman, we're told she suffered a broken pelvis, as well as injuries to her head and leg ... but she's been released from the hospital.

Like that's not bad enough ... the video appears to show men observing this all from inside the lobby of a nearby building just feet away from the action. Not one of them springs up to help the woman, and one of them seems to close the door after the attacker splits.

Kendall Jenner is done with trespassers, beefing up her armed security team after a man attempted to help himself to a nude swim at her place -- the latest shocking security breach at her gated community home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a 27-year-old man made his way onto Kendall's L.A. property around 2 AM Sunday and began to knock on windows while yelling her name.

We're told Kendall was home at the time, in a safe location -- and her security was alerted and tracking the man's movements -- but the guy stripped off his clothes in an attempt to get in her pool.

Our sources say he was detained by the security guards until cops showed up and arrested him for misdemeanor trespassing. We're told he never made any contact with Kendall, and after spending 6 hours behind bars ... he was released due to COVID protocols at the jail.

Sources close to Kendall tell us there have been additional security measures put in place at her home since the incident, including more armed guards. We're also told she's been toying with the idea of moving.

Mind you, Kendall's attorneys just ran to court on Monday to get a temporary restraining order against a different individual. TMZ broke the story ... a man who was in a mental health facility last week told police he planned to shoot Kendall and then himself.

He remains hospitalized, but could be released at any point, so Kendall has very real concerns about security -- especially considering she lives in a gated community where residents pay for an extra layer of protection.

As we reported, an alleged stalker ended up getting onto her property twice in 2018, and coincidentally was also spotted by her pool. Kendall got a restraining order, and then he was deported to Canada.

Kendall Jenner is getting protection from a man cops say wants to kill her.

Kendall beelined it to court Monday and got a judge to grant her a temporary restraining order ... to protect her from a 24-year-old man named Malik Bowker, whom she claims traveled across the country to gun her down.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kendall claims an LAPD detective told her Thursday of Bowker's alleged plan. She says police told her Bowker planned to buy an illegal firearm to shoot her and then himself.

In the docs, Kendall claims police told her Bowker is being held on a temporary psychiatric hold at a local hospital's psychiatric ward, but warned her he could be released soon.

What should be noted ... Jenner has a massive team of armed security guards at her home that monitor the property 24/7. If someone like Bowker were to step foot, they'd be immediately apprehended before getting anywhere near Kendall.

Kendall claims she's never met the guy, but his alleged threats are causing her severe emotional distress and anxiety ... and she says she's terrified Bowker will try to find her and harm or kill her when he's released from the hospital.

Derek Chauvin's defense in his murder trial -- claiming George Floyd died from a drug overdose -- is similar to the tactic used in Rodney King's trial ... but civil rights attorney Ben Crump says it's a shameful attempt to distract jurors.

Ben joined "TMZ Live" on Monday and sounded not so surprised Derek Chauvin's defense zeroed in on Floyd allegedly being under the influence at the time he was killed ... rather than the ex-cop pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes.

Ben's adamant, whenever a white police officer kills a Black man in America the default strategy's to try every trick ... including assassinating Floyd's character.

You'll recall during King's federal civil rights case in 1993 ... the defense for the LAPD cops standing trial described King as a "PCP-crazed giant" who practically invited the beatdown. It's hard not to draw the parallel with what Chauvin's defense attorney laid out in court Monday morning.

Ben's hopeful America's grown up since King's senseless beating that sparked the 1992 L.A. riots. He's also hopeful that since Trayvon Martin and Eric Gardner's deaths America's now more conscious and aware of this issue of injustice based on the color of someone's skin.

Vanessa Bryant has asked a judge to give her mom the boot in her lawsuit to win lifetime support.

Vanessa's mom, Sofia Laine, has filed a lawsuit against Kobe's estate, claiming Kobe promised to take care of her financially for the rest of her life.

In new docs, Vanessa points to a legal fight Sofia was having against her ex-husband in 2004 and 2008 over spousal support. Sofia's ex-husband claimed he should not have to pay her because she was being supported by Kobe and Vanessa. Sofia fired back that her daughter and son-in-law had no obligation to support her, and whatever they gave her was simply out of the goodness of their hearts.

Sofia's ex also pointed to tabloid stories which claimed Vanessa bought a $1 million home for her so she wasn't in need of support. Sofia shot back ... the stories were "absolutely false" and "I would never permit Vanessa to do such a thing. I have not and do not (nor should I be required to) rely on Vanessa for my support."

And, Vanessa has other reasons why she wants the lawsuit dismissed. Among them ... Sofia argues Kobe made an oral promise to "take care of her financially." Vanessa's legal team says even if Kobe said that, it's too vague to be enforced.

And, there's this ... Sofia also says Vanessa and Kobe violated California labor laws by not giving her meal breaks, rest periods and giving her minimum wage for babysitting services. Vanessa fired back in legal docs, "[Sofia] was never an 'employee' ... [she] is a grandmother who, at times, helped her daughter and son-in-law by spending time with her grandchildren."

And, Vanessa's legal team argues, in order for Sofia to go after Kobe's estate, she had to file a creditor's claim within a year of his death, and she did not do that.

Blac Youngsta couldn't look more calm, cool and collected while getting arrested for gun possession -- in fact, new body cam video almost makes it seem like he was happy to kick it with the cops.

TMZ's obtained the video showing the moments after Dallas cops pulled over the MC and his crew back in October. BY clearly had a slight cough, but it didn't stop him from making small talk as the cops escorted him off to jail.

Black Youngsta was chatting them up about why the process was taking so long ... and seemed impressed with the van used to haul him away. Hell, he even asked the cop about the price of the whip!

According to the police report, a Dallas Task Force and the gang unit were conducting an operation in response to recent gun violence in Dallas surrounding multiple rap artists performing throughout the city.

Cops initially pulled over a GMC Yukon carrying Youngsta because the driver allegedly made an illegal turn. They eventually found 4 handguns ... including one between Youngsta's legs. He was ultimately arrested for unlawful carrying of a weapon.

BTW, another Memphis rapper, Lil Migo, was also arrested ... for possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a weapon. Cops say he was in a separate SUV that was part of Youngsta's entourage.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello got quite a scare this week when their place was broken into, but even worse ... cops say Shawn's now down one G-Wagon.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the singers were home together in L.A. when the suspects broke in through a window. We're told the perps made a pretty quick exit when they realized the couple was home ... but not before grabbing the keys to Shawn's ride.

Our sources say police were called and rushed to the house, but it was too late ... the suspects had already taken off in his Mercedes SUV.

We're told so far no arrests have been made, but LAPD is still investigating.

The mother of a 12-year-old student whose teacher went on a racist rant on Zoom against her and her son is now filing a lawsuit.

Katura Stokes was on a Zoom call with her teacher from Desert Willow Fine Arts, Science and Technology Management Academy in Palmdale, CA, when the call ended.

Unbeknownst to the teacher, the mother was still listening when the teacher, Kimberly Newman, launched into a half-hour-long, despicable tirade about Black families, saying the student was lying and then zeroing in on the mom, "Since you've taught him to make excuses that nothing is his fault. This is what Black people do."

But, she wasn't done ... "I mean these parents, that's what kind of piece of s*** they are ... Black. He's Black. They're a Black family."

Lyssa Chapman, daughter of Dog the Bounty Hunter, won't have to do any hard time for allegedly harassing her girlfriend last year ... as long as she stays out of trouble.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ... Lyssa pled no contest to 2 counts of harassment she was facing. In exchange, the judge granted her a deferment ... essentially she'll have to keep her nose clean for the next 6 months. She had previously pled not guilty.

Under the conditions of her deferment, Lyssa's not allowed to leave the Hawaiian island of O'ahu without permission, must regularly report to her probation officer, and of course ... agree to not commit any federal or state crimes.

She's also been ordered to pay $535 in fines.

We broke the story ... Lyssa was arrested in Honolulu in January 2020 following an alleged fight with her girlfriend. Soon afterward, she was officially hit with 2 counts of harassment ... one against a man and one against a woman, who Lyssa said was her GF.

Harvey Weinstein had his scrotum pierced as a woman attempted to defend herself during an alleged sexual assault he committed -- this according to a new lawsuit.

The woman's name is Hayley Gripp, and she's just the latest Weinstein accuser to file suit against the disgraced movie producer ... who's now in prison. She claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2012, with the assistance of an unnamed female associate.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Gripp claims she was approached by this anonymous Weinstein associate while she was waiting for a casting call at the Beverly Hilton hotel. She says the two of them got to talking about her career aspirations, as well as her Tourette syndrome.

Gripp claims the woman said she wanted to introduce her to a big producer who was in the building, whom she allegedly said would love to talk more about her journey. Gripp -- who says she was just 19 at the time -- explains she was hesitant but eventually agreed.

That's when she says she met HW, whom she says she didn't know of at the time ... and who apparently intro'd himself as Dom, she alleges. Gripp claims she was served wine and before she knew it ... she says she blacked out, only to awake with Weinstein on her.

Gripp says she started to flailing her arms, and broke one of her acrylic nails on the coffee table she claims he had her pinned on. She claims she was able to stab HW with her broken nail on the bottom of his scrotum, and broke free from his clutches ... making a run for it.

She alleges the woman who initially lured her up there was outside "standing guard" and proceeded to tell her this was on her due to her syndrome and that she better shut her trap, because no one would believe her ... so claims Gripp.