The U.S. attorney says that Anna Mochalova allegedly stabbed two men specifically because they were Jewish.
According to the criminal complaint, the 32-year-old attacked both victims in quick succession.
Mochalova followed the first victim before stabbing him in front of 15 West 47th St.
Investigators say the 26-year-old victim felt a stinging sensation in his lower back.
The second assault took place shortly after the first, two blocks away.
According to police, Mochalova bumped into a 37-year-old man multiple times before he experienced a stinging sensation in his forearm.
Prosecutors say the victim turned around and confronted Mochalova, who, while speaking Russian, told him to run away, that she had a gun and that she was going to shoot him.
The victim said he watched Mochalova approach another man nearby and ask him if he was Jewish. When the man told her he was Muslim, she allegedly apologized and walked away.
She is being charged with two counts of committing hate crimes.