Trying to assassinate NY gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin? No biggee
Well, at least Zeldin gets to say “I told you so”:
The man who allegedly tried to stab Republican candidate for New York governor Lee Zeldin with a bladed weapon during a campaign stop on Thursday was released from jail within hours of his arrest on a felony charge — just as Zeldin had predicted.
David Jakubonis, 43, from Fairport, New York, was arraigned overnight in Perinton Town Court on a count of second-degree attempted assault stemming from the attack on Rep. Zeldin but was quickly released on his own recognizance.
In a tweet after the violent incident in Monroe County, Zeldin, who is running as a tough-on-crime candidate against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, said he expected his alleged assailant to be back on the streets in no time.
It is fitting, I suppose, the the attack attempt occurred while Zeldin was giving a stump speech about the need for bail reform.
The would-be attacker was freed without bail, by the way:
…New York law bars judges from setting bail for nonviolent felonies, even when that nonviolent felony can fairly be described as the threatened and attempted assassination of a member of Congress and candidate for governor.
How is this considered a nonviolent felony? I assume it was because the perp was blocked and then tackled to the ground while trying to stab Zeldin in the neck. Because he didn’t succeed, it seems it becomes non-violent by definition.
In a sane state, this entire incident would be just another indication that Zeldin ought to be elected. But New York is no longer a sane state, so I expect Hochul to win. By the way, Hochul had been labeling her opponent Zeldin as a far-right extremist who is “dangerous” to New York, as well as informing supporters where and when Zeldin was speaking. After the attack attempt, she of course condemned it and added, “this violent behavior…has no place in New York.”
I find the construction of that phrase interesting. What does it mean that violent attacks “have no place” in New York? Obviously, they occur with some frequency. Just as obviously, the current policies on bail come under the heading of “things that encourage violent behavior or at least don’t discourage it.” Words such as Hochul’s are meaningless blather without the policies to back them up.
I imagine Hochul may have been sad that the attempt was made with a sort of knuckle-knife (hard to describe; photo at the link) rather than a gun, since that means she can’t use it to condemn guns.
NOTE: Zeldin is young and fit, as well as an Iraq vet, and he was able to grab his attacker’s arm until others tackled the man. But why was the attacker able to get so close without any intervention to stop him? It’s frightening, and reminds me that I asked the same question – how did the attacker get so close? – about the assassin in the killing of former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
NY is indeed no longer sane, and our greatest city (having chosen, albeit with low turn-out, the loathsome Adams and the odious Bragg) is replete with mass hysteria and collective psychosis. Hochul is so incompetent and so alarmingly stupid as to make even a Cuomo-hating conservative quite possibly nostalgic for her predecessor. At the same time, our most important and most populous state is run by a moron with presidential aspirations (and very good hair) and rotten with reprehensible Soros-funded criminal-coddling DAs. What hope, one might well imagine, can be said to exist for this ailing republic?
Mr Jakubonis would do well to remember that the police exist more to protect the criminal from the victim than the reverse. Seeing him released immediately might incentivize Mr Z’s buddies to subtly make sure that Mr J is no longer a danger to others during the scrum next time.
Sigh. The “sort of knuckle-knife” that Neo describes is “a plastic keychain fob that looks like a cartoon cat’s head and is marketed for ‘self-defense.’ Photos of the Thursday incident in upstate Monroe County show accused assailant David Jakubonis, 43, with two black points protruding from an item held in his right hand with his index and middle fingers. The weapon resembles the ‘My Kitty Plastic Self-Defense Keychain Weapon,’ which is designed to mimic a cat’s face with holes for its eyes and other cut-outs for its nose and whiskers. ‘Pointed cat ears make this keychain tool “purrfect” for self-defense!’ according to The Home Security Superstore website.”
Photo of the item at the link:
https://nypost.com/2022/07/22/david-jakubonis-used-10-cat-keychain-in-lee-zeldin-attack/
No, I don’t own a “My Kitty Plastic Self-Defense Keychain Weapon”; I remember being advised by the local cops some years back that grabbing your keys such that a different key protrudes between each knuckle is an effective impromptu means of self-defense. Assuming you have quick reflexes, that is.
One of the videos of this shows what looks like a small woman hitting the perp with some good punches while he is on the ground.
Is there a back-up plan for this should it fail? Does the guy need more security?
Wesson:
Might it have been Zeldin’s running mate, lieutenant governor candidate Alison Esposito? See this for her background.
Isn’t it a federal crime to assault a member of Congress??? Actually sounds more like attempted murder to me.
Paging Merrick Garland, Merrick Garland……..
Hmmm…as expected, silence.
Now if it was AOC who suffered such an attack, I’m sure the entire DoJ would be on it.
If the perp had dead-named Zeldin, bail probably would have been set at $1MM, as words are literally violence but violence is not, or at least not if no blood is drawn because people know how to defend themselves.
I watched the video and immediately wondered if the candidate had combat training. He was completely on top of the situation and instantly blocked the perp’s arm. Thanks for confirming! And the blonde woman throwing punches does look rather like his admirable running mate, Alison Esposito, an NYPD cop with Quantico training. Perhaps now she will be arrested and held without bail, having achieved genuine violence without even having to use any of her dangerous rhetoric that’s literally killing people you guys.
Sane people will continue migrating out of NY.
There are three JP’s in Fairport and Perinton, NY. All are p/t judges and each has a solo law practice in town. JP’s are elected in New York for four year terms. One of the three has a jurisdiction limited to the core village, while the other two hear cases in the surrounding township and seldom hear village cases. One was a public defender between 1974 and 1983. I’m wagering his release was rote and not an indicator of a political vendetta.
Fun fact. My family once lived about three miles from where this business occurred. Still have family friends in the area.
Hochul is so incompetent and so alarmingly stupid
Well, she cadged a law degree in 1984 and was admitted to the DC bar. She still keeps her DC license current, which is curious as she lasted less than a year in law practice. Since then, she’s been on the staff of elected officials or been an elected official herself. (She first got involved in politics in an avocational way when she was a student at Syracuse University 40-odd years ago). She was tapped for the Lt. Governor’s position after the previous occupant got bored with the job. She grew up in a large Catholic family around Buffalo, but evidently did not want that kind of life. She has a couple of kids. There is a husband, who supposedly landed some lucrative legal business when she arrived in Albany seven years ago. She shows no evidence of having had an original observation in her life.
Has anyone looked into the perp’s background to see if he would have made a good leftist martyr? Based on the weapon he supposedly used, I’m wondering if the outcome is that he was supposed to be shot by Zeldin’s security and then have it revealed that he wasn’t a ‘threat’.
Good point.
Perverse nature of NY politics. The sleazy Cuomo replaced by the mindless, Wonder Bread entity that is Hochul.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-jakubonis-b9624a47
It appears he hasn’t worked in 10 years, or he hasn’t updated this LinkedIn profile.
He appears to be the n’er do’ well son of an elderly suburban couple. His parents, along with his brother and sister-in-law, live in the same town.
His parents, along with his brother and sister-in-law, live in the same town. It appears he’s a widower and his brother has custody of his children, a set of fraternal twins who would now be about seven. One-time neighbor says he’s a lush and so was his late wife.
Don’t think you could have made a martyr out of this guy.
Perverse nature of NY politics. The sleazy Cuomo replaced by the mindless, Wonder Bread entity that is Hochul.
The most conscientious governor in the last 40 years was David Patterson. His approval rating was hovering around 17%, so he elected not to stand for a full term. New York’s stupid voters do this to themselves.
The weapon resembles the ‘My Kitty Plastic Self-Defense Keychain Weapon,’ which is designed to mimic a cat’s face with holes for its eyes and other cut-outs for its nose and whiskers.
So, he was harmless ? Remember the guy who attacked Trump in Ohio in 2016? Son of a Democrat politician. Got interviewed by CNN.
It’s possible this could backfire on Hochul. The flyer her campaign sent out with the locations of Zelden’s appearances and the video of the attack would make a good campaign ad.
“In a sane state, this entire incident would be just another indication that Zeldin ought to be elected. But New York is no longer a sane state, so I expect Hochul to win.” neo
Does that not imply that those who vote for Hochul are not entirely sane? In which case, what basis is there for them having a right to vote? Should not sanity be an inviolable requisite for the voting franchise?
Geoffrey Britain:
A state is not a person. And of course the legal definition of “sane” for a person is not applicable to states.
Here’s an article about voting rights and the mentally ill.
Mike K:
That item, deployed with physical force, certainly wouldn’t be harmless.
The weapon resembles the ‘My Kitty Plastic Self-Defense Keychain Weapon,’ which is designed to mimic a cat’s face with holes for its eyes and other cut-outs for its nose and whiskers.
Here’s a site that sells it.
https://www.divasfordefense.com/products/ninja-kitty-self-defense-keychain-ring-impact-self-defense
According to the “Description”: “It is made of an unbreakable lightweight ABS plastic. Laboratory tests have rated this plastic is[sic] as strong as metal!”
Ok, so probably not deadly, but could do some damage if inflicted on (as the site advises) “‘tender areas’ of the body and joints.”
Jimmy:
The thing is pointed, and the guy reportedly was going for the neck.
I think geoffrey was being metaphorical,
https://thefederalist.com/2022/07/22/jan-6-committees-footage-of-sen-josh-hawley-is-exceedingly-dishonest/
as in the other thread, to hold any opposite view is crimethink, the cuban regime called it ‘dangerousness’ in the 90s
It’s a shame only one side is actually fighting Civil War II.
Is it not a little premature to claim with absolute confidence that the attacker was really trying to kill Zeldin?
Premature? Perhaps so. The State should be investigating the weapon in a serious and competent crime lab. Was the weapon dipped in a toxin; arsenic, cyanide, botulinum, or some other, for instance? Who knows? Who asks?
neo,
A State is entirely composed of persons. A State cannot be entirely absent of persons and be a State.
The article linked to consists of professionals that Jordan Peterson has recently piled scorn upon in the harshest of terms.
“We will also propose methods to improve implementation of voting by hospitalized psychiatric patients for upcoming elections.”
If someone is so psychiatrically impaired as to require hospitalization then that alone is prima facie evidence of their unfitness to vote. But it is not surprising that those on the left, as those ‘professionals’ surely are, now indicate a desire to give the asylum inmates even more societal influence.
Geoffrey Britain:
Oh, really? States have people in them? Such a surprise!
That is irrelevant to the point I was making, which is that a state is not a person.
And that article was merely offered to give some history for the status of mentally ill persons and voting, not as an endorsement of its proposals. The operative part is this: “In this article we will review the literature about voting, the current voting laws…”
>Might it have been Zeldin’s running mate, lieutenant governor candidate Alison Esposito?
Thank you, Neo. I read on another site that the man who tackled the perp said that Ms. Esposito helped subdue him. I admire her action. Wondered if she was Zeldin’s wife. 🙂
Obviously he needs to upgrade his security protocols.
Reaction to the assault from Kathy Hochul: “I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!”
Based on her language, apparently in the new world the left imagines, you aren’t even allowed to campaign for office against a Democrat. I guess they’d prefer that Democrats get to select their opponents now.