Rep. Lee Zeldin (Republican nominee for governor of New York), appeared on Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Saturday. He highlighted the problems with New York’s extreme no-cash bail laws days following an attack at a Fairport campaign rally. His accused assailant was also released without bail.
The suspect was identified as 43-year old David G. Jakubonis. He jumped onto the stage and confronted Zeldin with a sharp object made of double-jointed steel. Hours earlier, Gov. Breitbart News reported that Kathy Hochul (D-NY), issued a press release revealing “the times and locations of several Zeldin campaign stops.” Her supporters were encouraged to “RSVP to learn about Zeldin’s ‘Election Integrity Task Force.”
Zeldin spoke with Matthew Boyle from Breitbart News Saturday about what he was thinking when the attacker approached him at the rally. He also discussed the problems associated with no-cash bail.
He recalled, “When I first met this person, I was seeing a cap that showed that he was a veteran. Which in life always makes it completely drop my guard.” I noticed that he was wearing what appears to be brass knuckles and two pointy daggers on his right hand. He’s reaching towards my throat. I wanted to grab his wrist. This is something I did much earlier in my life. I was a blackbel in Tae Kwon Do and I recall learning the self-defense skills of what you should do if someone is threatening you with a knife.
He noticed that the man kept repeating to him: “You’re done. You’re done.
“In that particular setting, however, I was also aware that there were people around me who could respond quickly so I just had to hold him back for a second. And sure enough, seven to eight to nine to ten people all tackled him and subdued him…And then, I was a little separated from the scene. There was discussion about whether he had other weapons. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded quickly. The attacker was arrested and, as we’ve all seen in other New York cases, he was released within hours.
Zeldin was finally able to return to the podium and finish his remarks after the ordeal.
I keep hearing of people being released on cashless bail and then go out to commit more offenses. Judges in case after case want to be able keep someone detained or set cash bail because they are concerned that the person is a flight risk, maybe they’re worried about an individual being unsafe, maybe it’s something they have in their past with criminal records and past events, maybe it’s the particular severity of the offense,” Zeldin explained to Breitbart News Saturday. “That discretion is not available for all the laws.”
New York’s radical, no-cash bail reform was signed into law by a disgraced former governor. Andrew Cuomo (D.NY), who was before Hochul, led to numerous cases in which accused perpetrators were released on the streets amid serious accusations.
Here are a few examples:
According to State Senator Mike Martucci (R-42) Mohammed Islam, 32, was accused of setting an arson fire in an unoccupied home in upstate New York on January 15. This happened a day after he had been arrested for other arsons. Martucci stated that he was released because of the soft bail laws. However, while fighting the fire, Forestburgh Assistant Fire Chief William “Billy” Steinberg suffered a heart attack and later died.
Brian Hale (30) of Libson was arrested in April on a second degree manslaughter accusation. This stemmed from an altercation that took place at a bar in February and which authorities claim resulted in Andrew Johnston’s death. Hale was released on his own recognizance.
Frank Abrokwah (37), allegedly spat on a woman’s face in New York City’s Bronx subway station on February 21st after she refused to listen to him. Abrokwah was freed without bail and arrested the next day for allegedly trying rob a hardware store. When confronted, he reportedly encouraged an employee of his to report him to police.
Zeldin highlighted another example of this happening recently.
“There was an incident that occurred a few weeks ago when two men were arrested with $1.2million worth of crystal meth. Zeldin stated that they were Mexican cartel drug smugglers and were immediately released on cashless bail. The argument in favor of cashless bail is that an advocate will argue that someone with a clean record and a low-level crime they are not a flight threat, that they pose a threat to society, and that they shouldn’t be held just because they cannot afford bail. This was the argument in favor of this law. I would argue that if someone is caught with $1.2million worth of crystal meth, they should face the consequences. You shouldn’t be able to use the same argument as those advocates because you have no money for bail.
The congressman described the stark contrast between Hochul and him, and Hochul’s apprehension about addressing laws that will undoubtedly make New Yorkers more unsafe.
“The contrast between the two is striking. “The contrast is stark. Alvin Bragg, the New York County District Attorney, was refusing enforce the law beginning on day one. He puts out a day-one memo, he states that all laws across the board he won’t enforce, and all other laws he’ll treat lower. Zeldin agreed. When Kathy Hochul was questioned by the media about it, she said that “We all should be giving him some slack.” He has just gotten there. He is doing his job. She always gives the wrong answer.”
“She passed a new gun law just weeks ago. He continued, “She comes back with a law, in my opinion more unconstitutional, the week after New York’s concealed carry law was overturned by the Supreme Court.” It’s more than a Second Amendment violation. It’s a First Amendment offense, which means that it violates First Amendment rights. The media asked her “Do you have any data that will support going after concealed-carry permit holders?” She replied, “No. Cashless bail is what she won’t do because she claims that there isn’t data. Then, when she is asked about the new anti-gun, antisecond Amendment law, her answer is she doesn’t need any data.
He continued to stress that New York State’s two most pressing issues are the economy and public safety.
