BUFFALO, N.Y. — The race for New York governor took a strange twist Thursday night following an attack on sitting Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin.
Zeldin was uninjured but the attempted assault has renewed questions about the state's bail reform laws after the suspect was released on his own recognizance after being charged with a Class E felony.
New York GOP chairman Nick Langworthy and Zeldin were out in front with their response Friday, while the campaign of Governor Kathy Hochul kept it rather low-key; condemning the attack via Twitter and expressing relief that the Congressman was okay.
Zeldin told reporters Friday that "there was no doubt that when we woke up this morning, we were going to continue."
He emphasized a resilient tone after his unusual encounter in suburban Rochester. Zeldin was speaking at a campaign event around 8 p.m. Thursday when a man, identified by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office as 43-year-old David Jakubonis of Fairport, New York, approached the Congressman on stage.
Jakubonis was wielding a handheld object that appeared to have two sharp points. Zeldin reacted as it was directed near his face and neck and grabbed the man's arm. Other campaign staffers, including Lieutenant Governor candidate and former New York Police Department deputy inspector Alison Esposito, then held and subdued the man.
The Sheriff's Office later described what the suspect was holding as a plastic personal protection device. Jakubonis could be heard yelling something about his keys as he was restrained and tied up with zip-ties cut from campaign posters. Shortly after he was taken into custody.
On Friday, with reporters at a campaign stop in Syracuse, Zeldin talked a bit more about Jakubonis, who was charged with attempted assault, but after being arraigned was 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.
"If you look at the attacker from last night, I'm told he was intoxicated. I'm told that he had mental health issues," Zeldin said.
Zeldin, who did say without details he had a little more security Friday, questioned if the suspect, who was wearing a veteran hat, was referred to mental health or substance abuse counseling.
A State Police Public Information Officer told 2 On Your Side that they had contacted Representative Zeldin’s campaign Friday and were having ongoing discussions about his security.
It is unclear if federal charges will be filed against Jakubonis who under Title 18 Section 351 of U.S. Code could qualify for assaulting a sitting member of Congress. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York offered no comment amid the ongoing investigation.
2 On Your Side confirm Friday night that the FBI was assisting local law enforcement, however, which is necessary if federal charges are to be filed.
Meanwhile in Buffalo, the state GOP party boss Nick Langworthy questioned the Hochul campaign on some recent postings about Zeldin's campaign tour as well as called for New York's bail reform laws to be rewritten.
"This whole thing is broken this is endemic... the fact that there's even a possibility for [a judge] to say oh yeah I think he can go, I mean there should not be bail for something like this," Langworthy said.
When asked for a response, a Hochul campaign spokesperson said they had nothing to add beyond the governor's tweet issued Thursday night.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said they could not confirm the suspect's veteran status or even if he was intoxicated during the attack. They did search his home and said they did not find any guns.