NEW YORK (WABC) — The man who jumped on stage and tried to attack New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate was arrested Saturday on federal charges.
Authorities say U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin was assaulted by 43-year-old David Jakubonis at an upstate event Thursday, but the congressman escaped serious injury.
Jakubonis, of Fairport, New York, was arrested on a federal charge of assaulting the congressman with a dangerous weapon and appeared in court Saturday afternoon.
He is being held pending a detention hearing on Wednesday.
Jakubonis was previously charged statewide with attempted assault in Monroe County for his role in the incident, but was out of jail Friday morning.
Officials say as Zeldin spoke from a trailer, Jakubonis entered the trailer and approached the congressman, held out a key ring with two sharp prongs and grabbed his arm.
A fight then ensued between Zeldin and Jakubonis when spectators intervened.
“I’m fine,” Zeldin said in a statement. “Luckily I was able to grab his wrist and hold him off for a few moments until the others tackled him.”
Zeldin’s campaign said that after the attacker was arrested, the congressman continued his speech.
Zeldin, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul this November, said security will be beefed up for the rest of his gubernatorial campaign.
“All security for all events for later in the campaign will be stepped up,” he said. “This is something that started this morning … that will continue until November.”
Zeldin said when he saw the suspect wearing a veteran’s hat, “My guard couldn’t be more down, but at the same time, I realized he had a gun in his hand.”
“He was like, ‘You’re done,'” he said. “Obviously at that point, regardless of what was in the hat, this was not a normal situation … the first thought was to grab his wrist and just grab him.”
The Metropolitan Republican Club tweeted a photo of the suspect in handcuffs that also shows Kitty’s keychain, which is described online as a self-defense tool.
Witnesses say the object is the gun Jakubonis allegedly used to threaten Zeldin.
But at the time, some in the crowd thought he was holding a knife or some other sharp object.
A video posted on Twitter showed the two falling to the ground as others tried to intervene.
Among those who helped subdue the attacker was Zeldin’s running mate, former NYPD Deputy Inspector Alison Esposito, according to state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy.
Langworthy told The Associated Press he had no details about the attacker or his weapon, but later exchanged text messages with Zeldin while the congressman spoke with police.
“That’s fine,” Langworthy said. “He’s not seriously injured. It’s just a chaotic scene.”
He said Zeldin had “just a little scrape,” but it wasn’t what anyone would consider an injury.
In a statement, Hochul condemned the attack and said she was “relieved to learn that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody.”
President Joe Biden also issued a statement about the incident.
“I condemn the attack on Congressman Zeldin in the strongest terms,” he said. “As I said before, violence has no place in our society or in our politics. I especially appreciate the courage of those who intervened immediately, that he was not harmed and was able to continue his speech. I also want to thank the agents of order that they took swift action and are investigating this attack that challenges our core democratic values.”
Zeldin wondered aloud why the man was released at 3 a.m., a time of night when there was no access to mental health resources.
He said the man should have been held until the morning when he could get help.
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 congressional Republicans who voted against to certify the results of the 2020 elections.
He has focused his campaign on fighting crime, but faces an uphill battle against Hochul. He will have to persuade independent voters, who outnumber Republicans in the state, as well as Democrats to win the general election.
Democrats are expected to focus on Trump’s vocal defense of Zeldin during the two impeachments and the objection to the election results.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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