One of the hooligans who allegedly pelted NYPD cops with snowballs in a rowdy free-for-all at Washington Square Park has been unmasked — as a 27-year-old punk who was arrested for attempted robbery just weeks ago, police said.
Gusmane Coulibaly was cuffed on Thursday in connection to the Monday afternoon mayhem that sent two uniformed cops to the hospital, authorities said.
Cops didn’t immediately say what he was charged with.
It wasn’t Coulibaly’s first run-in with the law.
He was arrested for attempted robbery in a Bronx subway station less than three weeks ago, cops and sources said.
Coulibaly was one of four suspects pictured in surveillance photos released by the NYPD a day after video of the “snow”-commotion went viral on social media.
The three others remain at large, police said.
The NYPD Police Benevolent Association president applauded the arrest, and took a swipe at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who previously brushed off the snowball bombardment as a group of kids goofing off.
“A 27-year-old is not a ‘kid,’ @NYCMayor,” the union posted on X.
“This individual is an adult with a recent attempted robbery arrest, and your message was that it’s OK for him to assault police officers for doing their job. This arrest sends a different message. We’re grateful to all who have worked so hard on this case. There is more work to be done to hold accountable all who participated in this shameful attack.”
Coulibaly’s last brush with the law came on Feb. 6, when he allegedly stormed up to a straphanger in the Fordham Road station and demanded, “Run everything in your pockets. You don’t want this to get physical,” according to the criminal complaint.
He was arrested and charged with attempted robbery, attempted petit larceny and harassment, the court doc said.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance by Judge Tara Collins. He is due back in court for that case on March 15.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch previously described the icy incident in the Greenwich Village park as “criminal” and “disgraceful.”
Mamdani said on Tuesday that he had “seen the videos” but downplayed it as just “kids throwing snowballs.”
“I’ve seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park,” he posted on X.
“Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect. If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me.”
Hizzoner then doubled down during a later news conference, insisting the culprits were “kids,” despite footage appearing to show adults.
“I can just tell you from the video I saw, it looked like kids in a snowball fight,” he said.
“I’ve said time and time again that I, having seen these videos, to me it was a snowball fight that got out of hand and it should be treated accordingly,” the mayor insisted.
Tisch told The Post Wednesday, after a meeting with Mamdani administration officials, that she had spoken with the mayor about the snowy skirmish, and that “the investigation is ongoing.”
She reiterated her no-nonsense stance on the snowballers – or anyone who puts cops in harm’s way.
“I’ll say, as to anyone looking to do harm to the police, my message is very clear: I am a protective Jewish mother. Don’t mess with my cops,” she said.
In a Tuesday statement, Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong joined the chorus of voices condemning the rogue winter warriors – and elected officials including the mayor who “were so silent after this incident occurred.”
“When individuals choose to turn a park into a launching ground for attacks on police, they cross a clear line,” he wrote. “Today it is snowballs. Tomorrow it could be rocks, bottles, or worse.”
But many New Yorkers and others believed the cops’ and their boosters’ reactions were a bit overheated and oversensitive.
“Today it is snowballs. Tomorrow it could be anvils, a piano that falls on your head and makes your teeth turn into its keys, a photorealistic tunnel and roadway painted on a brick wall, or worse,” one X user mockingly responded to the sergeants’ union.
“The Russian people were more stoic about Stalingrad during the Nazi siege than the NYPD is about a snowball fight,” Jeet Heer, a writer with The Nation, a prominent lefty magazine, posted on X.
