Feds charge Rep. Zeldin’s suspected attacker with assaulting a member of Congress

The man accused of attacking Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for New York governor, now faces federal charges after a local court released him on personal recognizance.

David Jakubonis, 48, was again arrested on Saturday and charged this time with assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Mr. Jakubonis is now locked up pending a detention hearing on Wednesday, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Initially, Mr. Jakubonis was briefly arrested on state charges of second-degree attempted assault after he jumped on the stage at a Thursday campaign event and, with a blade-type weapon in hand, accosted Mr. Zeldin.

He approached Mr. Zeldin, extended a key-chain with two sharp points toward him and grabbed the congressman’s arm, according to federal prosecutors. A struggle then ensued and, as bystanders intervened, Mr. Jakubonis pulled Mr. Zeldin down onto the stage, allegedly stating several times during the assault, “You’re done.” 

Mr. Jakubonis was subdued and arrested. Mr. Zeldin escaped unharmed.

Mr. Jakubonis was released the same day on his own recognizance by a judge in Perinton, a town just south of Rochester, New York, where the attack occurred.

Mr. Zeldin had been speaking at an event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Perinton.

The quick turnaround in the local court drew howls from Mr. Zeldin and other Republican officials.

President Biden on Friday issued a statement to condemn the assault on Mr. Zeldin as an attack on democracy, though he did not mention the attacker’s quick release from custody.

“As I’ve said before, violence has absolutely no place in our society or our politics,” Mr. Biden, who is quarantined at the White House after testing positive for COVID-19.

Mr. Zeldin’s gubernatorial opponent, Gov. Kathy Hochul, also condemned the attack.

Mr. Zeldin said the lenient treatment of Mr. Jakubonis in the local court underscored his criticism of law and order in Democrat-run New York. He had predicted the suspect would be released and panned Ms. Hochul and her fellow Democratic leaders for weak leadership on crime.

“We cannot live in a state where someone who commits a felony trying to stab me on stage at a campaign rally then gets immediately released,” Mr. Zeldin said. “New York’s cashless bail law must be repealed! Kathy Hochul refuses to get this job done. I will!”

He promised to fire district attorneys who do not enforce the law.

Gerard Kassar, chair of the New York State Conservative Party, also called the quick release of the attacker a blemish for the state’s Democratic leaders.

“Only in New York can someone attack a sitting congressman with a weapon and be back out on the street within hours,” he said. “But that’s the state we live in under Gov. Kathy Hochul and reckless, one-party Democrat rule.”

He said the attack could have been provoked by Ms. Hochul’s campaign fanning partisan hatred against Mr. Zeldin.

“It’s yet to be seen if the assailant was directed to the event by Gov. Hochul herself — her campaign issued an angry, hyperbolic dummy news advisory to steer protesters to the Zeldin rally — but it is our hope that she will use better judgment in the future. This state is volatile enough without its governor ginning up fury.”

Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled Mr. Jakubonis’ surname and the name of New York State Conservative Party chair Gerard Kassar.