Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York on Monday credited his childhood karate training for his ability to grab and subdue a man who approached him with a two-blade weapon at an upstate campaign rally.
“If you can gain control of his wrist, you’re gaining control of the knife, and then you don’t have to worry about getting any closer to the knife than you have to,” Mr. Zeldin, the Republican nominee for New York governor, told “Fox & Friends.”
David G. Jakubonis, 43, of Fairport, New York, had been released on his own recognizance but was placed back in custody over the weekend on a federal charge of assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon. He faces court appearances in federal and state courts later this week.
Mr. Jakubonis reportedly told authorities he was drinking Thursday before he got up on a platform where Mr. Zeldin was speaking in Perinton, New York. He said, “You’re done,” while threatening the congressman with the cat-shaped weapon with two blades.
He later suggested that he didn’t know Mr. Zeldin and that he was a political figure.
“Maybe he was intoxicated, but it’s hard to believe that he just had no idea who I was or where he was,” Mr. Zeldin said.
Mr. Zeldin, who will face Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in November, said he wants voters to know that he would reform the state’s bail system, which has been blamed for Mr. Jakubonis’ release on the initial charges.
“We need to repeal cashless bail,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.