The NYPD is being called in to protect Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin during a campaign rally in Queens Sunday evening after he was attacked upstate last week.
A small contingent of police has been assigned to protect the outgoing congressman from Long Island during his scheduled 7 p.m. appearance at Francis Lewis Park, a law enforcement source said.
Undercover officers from the NYPD’s Intelligence Division will also be on hand, along with uniformed officers from the local precinct, another source said.
No police were present Thursday evening when troubled Army veteran David Jakubonis allegedly shoved a plastic gun shaped like a cat’s head down Zeldin’s throat while the pole was giving a State of the State address of Fairport, near Rochester.
David Jakubonis is arrested by Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies after he brandished a sharp object during an attack on U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin.WHEC-TV via AP Jakubonis (left) displays a sharp object as he attacks Zeldin.WHEC-TV via AP A group of people attending Zeldin’s stump speech gather around the attacker. Ian Winner/Handout via REUTERS Jakubonis, 43, was initially charged with attempted second-degree assault and was automatically released after his arraignment. WHEC-TV via AP
Several bystanders, including Zeldin’s running mate Alison Esposito, a retired NYPD cop, subdued and disarmed Jakubonis, then held him for several minutes until Monroe County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the place of events
Jakubonis, 43, was initially charged with attempted second-degree assault and was automatically released after his appearance in Perinton Town Court under the controversial bail reform law of 2019 .
But he was later arrested by the FBI on Saturday and charged with assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon and ordered held pending a bond hearing in federal court in Rochester on Wednesday.
Zeldin is challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was lieutenant governor when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned over a sexual harassment scandal last year.