Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) was accosted Thursday by a man identified as Iraq war veteran David G. Jakubonis, who was allegedly armed with a cat-shape, spiked self-defense tool, during a speech for his gubernatorial campaign in upstate New York.
Jakubonis was arraigned on second-degree attempted assault and released on his own recognizance, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Footage showed Zeldin speaking on an outdoor stage at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Fairport, a village of under 6,000 people in the Rochester suburbs, when a man suddenly approached from the congressman’s right and appeared to brandish an object.
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Zeldin grabbed the man’s wrist, and people in the crowd rushed to wrestle him to the ground. Zip-ties brought to fasten campaign posters were used to subdue the alleged assailant, according to WHEC-TV.
Zeldin was unharmed, according to spokesperson Katie Vincentz, and returned to the stage to finish his speech after the suspect was taken into custody.
A photo of the item the man was supposedly holding showed it was akin to brass knuckles, but with the cat’s “ears” sticking out in sharp points.
Zeldin is running to unseat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who tweeted: “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.”
Nick Langworth, the chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, excoriated Hochul, accusing her of fanning “the flames of hate by directing her supporters to his rally schedule.”
Langworth was apparently referring to a Thursday press release from Hochul’s campaign in which she included details of Zeldin’s campaign itinerary. Referring to Zeldin as “‘Big Lie’ Lee”—a nod to his status as one of the House Republicans who voted not to certify the 2020 election—Hochul said that Zeldin would be “making stops across the state peddling dangerous lies, misinformation, and his far-right agenda.”
“This is unacceptable conduct for anyone, let alone a sitting governor,” Langworth fumed.
Zeldin’s communications director said the alleged assailant was taken into custody.
“Far more must be done to make New York safe again. This is very much getting out of hand in this state,” Vincentz tweeted. “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!”
