A Fairport, N.Y., man is facing felony assault charges after police said he attempted to stab Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, during a campaign event on Thursday evening.
Mr. Zeldin was not injured in the incident.
David G. Jakubonis, 43, is charged with second-degree attempted assault in Monroe County, where a judge initially released him on his own recognizance without bail. However, appearing two days later in federal district court in Rochester before Magistrate Judge Marion W. Payson, Mr. Jakubonis, a military veteran who served in Iraq, was remanded to police custody pending a detention hearing this Wednesday.
He is charged with assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Court documents described the weapon as a "self-defense key chain" with two sharp points.
Criminal justice reforms that went into effect in New York State in January 2020, of which Mr. Zeldin has been heavily critical, eliminated cash bail for many categories of offenses. Mr. Zeldin immediately used the incident to again denounce those reforms, with a spokesperson stating on his behalf that "enough is enough."
"It is terrible public policy that in the state of New York, you can try to stab a sitting member of Congress, or anyone else for that matter, and be back out on the street not even six hours later," said Katie Vincentz, a campaign spokesperson. "This is one of many reasons why crime is on the rise, especially in certain parts of the state. There is not enough accountability for people when they commit crimes, and this is just one of the many examples we hear all about in New York every single day."
According to Monroe County sheriffs, Mr. Jakubonis climbed up onto the flatbed-trailer stage at V.F.W. Post 8495 in the town of Perinton, where Mr. Zeldin was giving a speech. He "had a weapon in his hand, swung it towards Zeldin's neck, and told him, 'You're done,' " the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Members of the audience and Rep. Zeldin's campaign restrained the male until deputies arrived and took him into custody."
Mr. Jakubonis told federal investigators that he had been drinking whisky that day and that he "did not know who the speaker was or that the speaker was a political person." He had asked Mr. Zeldin if he was "disrespecting veterans." According to his Congressional biography, Mr. Zeldin himself served in the infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers during Operation Iraqi Freedom and is currently a member of the Army Reserve.
According to the federal court complaint, after he watched video footage of the incident, Mr. Jakubonis also told investigators that he "must have checked out."
In a statement last Thursday, Mr. Zeldin said he was "grateful for the attendees who stepped up quickly to assist and the law enforcement officers who quickly responded. I'm as resolute as ever to do my part to make New York safe again."
With the passage of the state budget earlier this year, the state legislature reinstated cash bail for certain offenses and allowed judges more discretion in handing down those penalties. Those who supported the state's criminal justice reforms have long said the prior system disproportionately impacted people of color and poor people, who would often remain incarcerated for minor offenses while awaiting trial when bail could not be posted.
With reporting by Christopher Walsh
