(AP) NEW YORK — As the Republican candidate for governor of New York gave a speech in western New York, a man brandished a sharp object and attacked U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin. He has been charged with attempted assault.
The incident occurred on Thursday while Zeldin, a Democratic challenger to outgoing Gov. Kathy Hochul, was speaking to a VFW post west of Rochester in the hamlet of Perinton.
The assailant ascended a low platform where the congressman was addressing a throng of several dozen people while being flanked by hay bales and American flags.
Zeldin claimed to have seen the individual on stage in his peripheral vision during a news conference held in the Syracuse region on Friday.
He was sporting a cap that read “veteran,” which was the first thing the man noticed. “And my guard has lowered much further. But at the same instant, I saw that he was holding a firearm.
He claimed the man was telling him, “You’re done.”
Without respect to what was on your hat, he continued, “And obviously at that moment, this was not a normal circumstance and there needed to be action taken.”
Videos taken by audience members captured the man approaching Zeldin and attempting to grab him. He brought an object resembling a cat’s head toward Zeldin’s neck as he reached for the congressman. Photos of the item suggested it was a keychain intended for self-defence wear on the knuckles.
The attacker, David Jakubonis, was subdued by others present and taken into custody. Alison Esposito, a former deputy inspector with the New York Police Department, who was Zeldin’s running mate, was one among those who subdued him.
According to a Monroe County sheriff’s spokesperson, 43-year-old Jakubonis was charged with attempted assault in the second degree, arraigned, and then released. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer who can represent him. A call was made to the phone supplied for Jakubonis to get a remark.
Jakubonis, an Army veteran, served as a medical laboratory technician during a 2009 deployment to Iraq.
Zeldin expressed his gratitude to everyone who offered their assistance. After Jakubonis was restrained, he concluded his statements by stating that Friday it was crucial “not to be intimidated.”
According to Jacob Murphy, a representative for Zeldin’s congressional office, the incident left Zeldin with a slight scrape. For the Perinton event, Zeldin had private protection, but he said that starting now, security will be strengthened.
Hochul issued a statement in which she denounced the assault and expressed her relief for Congressman Zeldin’s safety.
Additionally condemning the act, President Joe Biden stated that it “defies our fundamental democratic values.”
“Violence has no place in our society or our politics, as I’ve said previously. The fact that he is unharmed and was able to finish his address makes me especially grateful for the bravery of those who stepped in to help, the president said in a statement.
Nick Langworthy, the head of the New York Republican State Committee, urged Hochul to provide Zeldin with a security detail to keep him safe while campaigning.
Questions concerning supplying Zeldin with a security detail were directed to New York state police by Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small.
As the Congressman for eastern Long Island and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Zeldin has been a steadfast supporter of former President Donald Trump. He was one of the Republicans who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election.
He has centred his campaign on demanding a crackdown on crime, but Hochul will be a tough opponent. To win the general election, he will need to convince Democrats as well as independent voters, who outnumber Republicans in the state.
Zeldin and other Republicans used the release of Jakubonis by a judge in the Perinton Town Court as evidence that New York’s bail laws needed to be changed. Hochul has been urged to toughen these laws.
A 2019 bail reform law in New York ended pretrial detention for those charged with the majority of nonviolent crimes.
In almost all cases involving serious felonies, judges have the discretion to set bail; however, there are some exceptions for some attempted offences, such as attempted assault.
Judges must also take into account a person’s capacity to post bail and examine the pros and drawbacks of adding additional conditions like travel limitations, electronic monitoring, or restrictions on the number of firearms they can own.
Hochul signed a bill this year that permits people to be detained on bond for hate crimes and extra firearms offences and gives judges more leeway when setting bail when a person is charged with several felonies in response to calls from Republicans and some Democrats to toughen the legislation.
When determining bail, judges must also take into account the accused’s past with firearms, if they are accused of causing “severe harm,” and whether they have broken any protective orders.
According to state law, according to Perinton Town Court senior clerk Betsy Wager, “the court had no choice but to release him on his own recognisance.”
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It is up to the police to determine whether to file charges against someone for a crime that could result in a judge imprisoning them.
The criminal complaint for the second-degree attempted assault accusation has been submitted by the sheriff’s office, according to a spokesman of the Monroe County district attorney’s office on Friday.
A message requesting comment on whether Hochul is considering making more modifications to the state’s bail legislation was not immediately answered by her office.
This story was produced in part by the Associated Press’s Marina Villeneuve in Albany, Karen Matthews in New York, Chris Megerian in Washington, and news researcher Rhonda Shafner.
