On Thursday night, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who is running for governor of New York, was attacked during a campaign stop. Zeldin had been speaking about bail reform at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Perinton, New York, when the suspect, an Iraq war veteran who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, got on stage and pulled a sharp object out. Witnesses say the suspect swung his weapon at Zeldin’s neck and told him, “you’re done.”
The suspect, 43-year-old David Jakubonis of Fairport, N.Y., was taken down by AMVETS national Director Joe Chenelly. According to a report from Rochester First, when Jakubonis lunged at Zeldin, Chenelly “tackled and restrained him, along with other bystanders at the scene.” Others were able to zip-tie the suspect and get his weapon away from him before he was taken into custody.
Video of the incident was posted to social media.
Video of @leezeldin’s attempted attack at a campaign rally in Monroe County earlier tonight.
Courtesy of Cody Crippen pic.twitter.com/1mTgUXIHVJ
— Kate Lisa (@KaitlynnLisa) July 22, 2022
Jakubonis was charged with second-degree attempted assault. Chenelly said he would make sure Jakubonis gets the help he needs.
“When he said he served in Iraq, I got down hands on my knees and said, ‘You know, we’re going to get through whatever you’ve done here tonight,’ and told him, ‘You’re going to get better and focus on that,’ and said, ‘You can contact me after this thing is done,” Chenelly said. “I was told not the engage with him right now. I think it’s very important we obviously have a mental health crisis nationwide— not just with our veterans but we especially have it with our veterans.”
Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement condemning the attack via Twitter.
“My team has informed me about the incident at Lee Zeldin’s campaign event tonight. Relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody. I condemn this violent behavior in the strongest terms possible — it has no place in New York,” she said.
NYGOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, however, accused Hochul of fanning the flames that led to the assault.
“It’s not a coincidence that just hours earlier, Kathy Hochul fanned the flames of hate by directing her supporters to his rally schedule,” Langworthy said. “This is unacceptable conduct for anyone, let alone a sitting governor. It’s not enough to condemn the attack, she must apologize and tone down her hateful rhetoric immediately.”
Zeldin’s campaign also blamed New York’s soft-on-crime policies for the incident. “Congressman Zeldin, Alison Esposito, and all members of Team Zeldin are safe following tonight’s attack,” Zeldin campaign spokesperson Katie Vincentz said in a statement. “Far more must be done to make New York safe again. This is very much getting out of hand in this state. Unfortunately, Congressman Zeldin is just the latest New Yorker whose life has been affected by the out-of-control crime and violence in New York. This needs to stop! Thankfully, we still have exceptional men and women in law enforcement answering the call to protect our streets.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member