BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, was assaulted Thursday by a man who apparently tried to stab him.
The congressman was not seriously injured.
On Friday evening's 2 On Your Side Town Hall, attorney Barry Covert talked about the type of charges that would have been needed to keep Zeldin's attacker in jail.
The man identified as the attacker, 43-year-old David Jakubonis of Fairport, New York, was charged with attempted assault. He was later released on his own recognizance. The charge against Jakubonis was a Class E felony, which is not enough to be placed in jail without bail while awaiting a legal proceeding.
Jakubonis appeared in federal court Saturday in Rochester to face a count of assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon. The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
He is now being held pending a detention hearing at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"The bail reform act, all it's saying is that we shouldn't presume that people are not going to show up for court," Covert said.
"And as long as we there's no history of them not showing up for court, and they're not violating orders of protection or violating other instructions from the court, there should initially be an assumption that we can issue some type of a reconnaissance to come back to court. And as long as the person comes back, that's what we're trying to achieve when we have an arraignment. We're not trying to punish someone before they're convicted."
It's unclear right now if Gov. Kathy Hochul will call a special session that Senate Republican Minority Leader Rob Ortt made earlier Friday.
“Countless New Yorkers are falling victim to crime every day," Ortt said in a statement released Friday morning. "Yesterday’s events have shined a tragic spotlight on that fact.
"Restoring public safety cannot wait. It’s time for the political ruling class to make the safety of New Yorkers a priority. Governor Hochul must convene a special session to finally repeal these disastrous pro-criminal policies that have made New Yorkers less safe."