Borgen told CNN he was on his way to a rally Thursday, similar to one he had attended peacefully the week before. He exited the subway wearing his kippah or yarmulke, a Jewish head covering, and texted his friends that he was on his way when he noticed someone on the street chasing him, he told Lemon. "Before I can even react, I was surrounded by a crowd of people who, as you saw in the video, proceeded to beat me down and then, after the fact, pepper spray and mace me," he said. Borgen said he fell to the ground, trying to protect his head and face and hoping he would survive. Before that day, Borgen said he had never thought twice about wearing his kippah or identifying himself as a Jewish person.