A man accused of attacking Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, at an event by apparently trying to stab the congressman has been arrested and charged with attempted assault.
A Monroe County sheriff’s spokesperson said David Jakubonis, 43, was arrested after trying to attack Mr Zeldin and was later charged with attempted assault in the second degree. He has been released without bail.
“I’m OK,” Mr Zeldin said in a statement after the assault on Thursday. “Fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him.”
Jakubonis is an Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a medical laboratory technician.
The incident happened as Mr Zeldin, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul this November, was addressing a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in the town of Perinton, outside Rochester.
The attacker climbed onto a low stage where the congressman spoke to a crowd of dozens, flanked by bales of hay and American flags. A video posted on Twitter shows the two falling to the ground as other people try to intervene.
The assailant brandished a pointed metal object shaped like a cat’s head, photos from the scene show.
The attacker swung the weapon toward Mr Zeldin’s neck and told him, “You’re done,” according to the sheriff’s spokesperson, Deputy Brendan Hurley.
Jacob Murphy, a spokesperson for Mr Zeldin’s congressional office, said Mr Zeldin had a minor scrape from the incident. He said Mr Zeldin had not received any specific threats recently.
In response to a question about what security was at the event, Mr Murphy said: “Congressman Zeldin had private security at the event and law enforcement arrived on the scene within a few minutes. Security will be increased starting with our first event this morning.”
Among those who helped to subdue the attacker was Mr Zeldin’s running mate, former New York Police Department deputy inspector Alison Esposito, Mr Murphy said.
In a statement, Gov Hochul condemned the attack and said she was “relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody”.
Mr Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who has represented eastern Long Island in Congress since 2015, is a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and was among the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
