Two Arrested in NYC Subway for "Manspreading"

According to a new report released by a non-profit organization that aims to reform the NYPD, two Latino men were arrested for "man spreading" in the New York subway.

The report released by the Police Reform Organizing Project catalogs 117 different incidents in which police, it believes, racially profiled, harassed, or in any other way abused citizens of New York.

One specific incident in the report states that PROP volunteers witnessed police arresting "two Latino men on the charge of ‘man spreading' on the subway, presumably because they were taking up more than one seat and therefore inconveniencing other riders."

In case you are unaware of the term, "manspreading" was defined by the New York Times as "the lay-it-all-out sitting style that more than a few men see as their inalienable underground right." To put it another way, so-called "manspreading" is when men sit with their legs spread relatively far apart.

"Manspreading," according to the New York Times

However, in this case, before a desk appearance ticket (which is an order to appear in court for an arraignment) was issued for the two men, the judge in charge of the case "expressed her skepticism about the charge because of the time of the arrests," writing, "12:11AM, I can’t believe there were many people on the subway."

The charges were subsequently dropped.