Tanya Young Williams, owner of a New York City clothing boutique, displayed a poster of Vice President Kamala Harris in her storefront window, expecting it to bring smiles to her Manhattan neighborhood.

But on Wednesday, she alleged in an interview with
that the poster provoked a man to yell at her, spit in her face, and push her outside her shop.

Williams, the owner of Tanya's Luxury Fashion Boutique on the Upper West Side, and an alum of the VH1 series "Basketball Wives," told
that the man who allegedly assaulted her was wearing a Trump T-shirt.

A New York Police Department spokesperson told
that the department is investigating the alleged crime as an assault in the third degree – a class A misdemeanor. The incident, which happened in the 20th precinct, is not being investigated as a hate crime but could be escalated to such an investigation depending on the evidence uncovered, the spokesperson said.

Williams explained that she was standing in the doorway of her shop around 1:30 p.m. ET on August 30 when the man, whose identity remains unknown, passed her by. He then returned, seemingly noticing the large poster of the Democratic presidential nominee displayed in her window along with T-shirts supporting Harris' bid for the White House.

"He said, 'You should have this in your window,'" she said, referring to the man who allegedly pointed at his T-shirt supporting Harris' opponent, former President Donald Trump. "I stepped towards him to keep him from entering the store and stated, 'I'm supporting Kamala.'"

Williams, who opened her store in February, initially believed she and the man would have a friendly exchange about the presidential campaign. However, the situation escalated when the man expressed his views on why she and other Black voters should support Trump.

"I realized there was no point in engaging with him, as there was no meaningful conversation to be had. Seeing that I wouldn't engage, he spat at me again. At that moment, I had to make a decision: should I defend myself physically, which I could have, or should I try to restrain him and call the police?" Williams explained.

Williams said the man then spat at her again, directly in her face. She reacted by grabbing him by the shoulders and urging bystanders to call the police.

Williams, unfortunately, got distracted, and the man allegedly shoved her. This caused her to stumble, hit the back of her head on the door, and sustain an injury. She also reported a cut lip.

As the man backed away, she said she ripped off a piece of his shirt that contained a button reading, "We stand with Israel." Williams showed
the torn section of clothing and button, which she said the man left behind, and she later showed police officers who quickly responded to the 911 calls reporting the incident.

"This is unacceptable. He must be held responsible," Williams asserted. "He needs to be a lesson that you cannot assault someone, you cannot spit on someone, you cannot invade someone's personal space because you disagree with their views."

Williams recounted that during the encounter, the man allegedly used racial slurs against her.

An NYPD source told
that Williams did not tell police who initially interviewed her that the man yelled racial slurs at her. The source said detectives have called Williams several times since the incident looking to interview her further, but she has not responded.

Williams is the parent of two daughters and the former spouse of Jayson Williams, a former NBA star who was found guilty of aggravated assault in connection with the accidental shooting of a limousine driver in 2002.

The police department stated that they are actively seeking video footage of the alleged incident and are still endeavoring to gather statements from witnesses.

Police have not apprehended anyone in connection with the incident and have not identified the alleged assailant, authorities said.

However, Williams stated she has fully cooperated with the authorities and informed the officers who took her initial report about the racial slurs. She also presented the officers with the torn piece of the man's shirt, but they did not collect it as evidence.

When asked if she considered taking down the Harris poster, Williams responded, "The poster is absolutely staying."