Man Who Tried to Stab GOP Lawmaker Immediately Released
A man who attempted to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) during a rally in New York was released from custody within 24 hours of his arrest despite a felony charge.
The suspect, 43-year-old New York resident and Iraq War veteran David G. Jakubonis, was charged with second-degree attempted assault and released on recognizance. What this means is that authorities are trusting him to arrive at his court date without enforcement.
Zeldin, who is running as a tough-on-crime candidate against incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D), predicted this would happen almost immediately after the incident occurred.
“His words as he tried to stab me a few hours ago were, ‘You’re done!’ but several attendees, including @EspositoforNY, quickly jumped into action & tackled the guy,” tweeted Zeldin. “Law enforcement was on the scene within minutes. The attacker will likely be instantly released under NY’s laws.”
Governor Hochul condemned the attack as ‘having no place in New York’ despite her support for liberal policies that are guaranteed to drive increases in crime.
If anything, the attempted assassination proves that New York is in desperate need of a change in leadership.
“This guy tried to stab a man running for Governor and is back on the streets?!?” tweeted Desi Cuellar, a New York Republican running for a seat in the House. “New York has truly become a sick place run by criminals!”
Jakubonis was brought down by AMVETS National Director Joe Chenelly, who is running for the state Assembly.
“His right hand came up, I assume out of his pocket, and he had a blade on his hand,” said Chenelly. “And Congressman Zeldin blocked the first lunge. And then as he tried to lunge again, I grabbed him from behind and tackled him down to the ground and held him on the ground.”
Chenelly promised to get Jakubonis help after learning that he had served in Iraq. “I got down on my hands and my knees and said, ‘You know, we’re going to get through whatever you’ve done here tonight. You’re going to get better and focus on that. You can contact me after this thing is done.’”
In a statement issued after the incident, Zeldin thanked lawmakers and promised to be “resolute” in doing his part to make New York safe again. The incident occurred last week as Zeldin delivered a speech on bail reform at VFW Post 8495 in Perinton, NY.
Author’s Note: Democrats just can’t seem to understand the fact that crime will increase if they don’t enforce the law. This man attempted to assassinate a public official and was released on his own recognizance – insane.
Sources:
Lee Zeldin attacker quickly released from jail – just as pol predicted
No surprise. Democrats are damned fools
Oh Alice. Sigh.
Anyone who read stories beyond the New York post and Fox News, would’ve determined that this attack was done with a dangerous keychain.
The sheriff and DA in the case I believe are both Republican, and the DAs boss is currently listed as a high ranking member of candidate’s team. The charges were preferred by these people although there is some question of whether the DA that’s on the candidates team had anything to do with it. However she was contacted by the DA who proffered the charges.
The charges have been viewed as appropriate by other Republicans. Given New York law and the weapon being a keychain
It is the charges, under the law, that force of release. If a more serious charge have been used, this could not have happened. So there are many that are questioning what happened and who talked to who in the chain of command, especially given the candidates position on the law.
No matter, the gentleman was put in jail on a federal law a few days later.
Statistically, there is no proof of this law has increased crime. Course there’s no proof that is reduced crime. But it has reduced the number of people incarcerated which in the US ranks as one of the top incarceration countries in the world
If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime. What’s wrong with punishment for crimes. I believe that the punishment should fit the crime but no bail and early release doesn’t help keep people safe
You are weird.
AS you get on the stage to make all your campaign promise’s, You should show the people you are armed and ready to defend yourself and everyone there to support you. Be prepared.
Yes!!!!
And just how would Lee have defended himself if the attacker had pulled out a handgun and shot at him from 20 feet away? Would he or his security team (if he had one) have had time to “defend” themselves? It’s pretty hard to defend against a surprise attack (hence the name).
Would Lee have continued his speech if the attacker had just stood there with an assault rifle? Or would Lee or his security team have started shooting first? Or would Lee have been intimidated enough to stop his speech? Would that be a violation of Lee’s right to free speech?
Could police remove an armed person? Lee is an elected official from Congress, and probably has state troopers or maybe Secret Service as protection. What if it were a group of 10 heavily-armed protesters? Would police then be justified to remove them? Would Lee have continued his speech? If every person in the crowd was armed, would that make Lee any less dead if the crowd could kill the attacker after the fact? And if one shot is fired, and everyone in the crowd started shooting at whoever they thought fired the shot – I’m not going to ask how many would die, I’m asking how many of the crowd would be left standing?
As it was, Lee stopped his speech and went home after getting attacked with a keychain. Seems pretty cowardly, considering that he consistently votes for the right to carry any kind of gun in any public setting. What’s he going to do when real weapons show up? Will this incident make him think about the weapons that he is helping to unleash on society?