Candidate for New York Governor assaulted

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Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, was assaulted by a man who apparently tried to stab him at an upstate event Thursday but the congressman escaped serious injury.

“I’m OK,” Zeldin said in a statement. “Fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him.”

Zeldin’s campaign said the attacker was taken into custody and the congressman continued his speech.

The attacker climbed onto a low stage where the congressman spoke to a crowd of dozens outside Rochester, flanked by bales of hay and American flags. A video posted on Twitter shows the two falling to the ground as other people try to intervene.

Among those who helped to subdue the attacker was Zeldin’s running mate, former New York Police Department Deputy Inspector Alison Esposito, said state GOP Chair Nick Langworthy.

Langworthy told The Associated Press that he didn't have any details on the attacker or his weapon but exchanged text messages with Zeldin afterward while the congressman was speaking to police.

“He is fine. He’s not seriously injured. It’s just a chaotic scene there,” Langworthy said. He said Zeldin had “just a little scrape” but it wasn’t what anyone would consider an injury.

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 the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.

Langworthy called on Hochul to issue a security detail for Zeldin to protect him on the campaign trail.

“This could have gone a lot worse. This could have really ended in a horrible way tonight and this is unacceptable,” he said.

Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small referred questions about providing Zeldin with a security detail to New York state police

In a statement, Hochul condemned the attack and said she was “relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody.”

David Jakubonis is a military veteran who is accused of trying to stab a Republican candidate for governor in New York, Congressman Lee Zeldin.

1. Jakubonis Is an Iraq War Veteran & the Man Who Subdued Him Wants to help Him, Reports Say
According to Rochester First, the suspect is “reportedly an Iraq War veteran under the influence of alcohol.” Authorities have not confirmed the information

He was zip-tied on the scene, the site reported. AMVETS national Director Joe Chenelly stopped him, and Jakubonis was taken into custody, reported Mytwintiers.com.

2. Jakubonis Was at Fort Bragg in 2008 & Wrote On LinkedIn, ‘Hire me’
In 2008, Fort Bragg posted a photo of Jakubonis. The caption read, “(Another service member), right, 432nd Blood Supply Detachment, checks the blood type as Pfc. David Jakubonis reads off the list of blood needed by the simulated clinic in the field during their week-long training Oct. 14 through 18.”

He has an Instagram page, but it only has a single photo on it.

On a LinkedIn page, he wrote, “hire me. Actively seeking employment.” He wrote that he was a medical laboratory technician in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2012, but other positions were “candidate for various agencies” and prospective asset.” He also wrote that he was “chief of Morale” for the RIT Veterans club.

The page also says he received a bachelor’s degree from RIT. “Bachelor’s Degree, summa cum laude, Criminal Justice, concentration in Psychology,” it reads, listing his GPA as 3.87. Under “activities and societies,” he listed, “President, Criminal Justice Student Association, 2013-2014.”

He also wrote that he received an associate of science degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from George Washington University in 2008. The page lists “5 years of work experience in all departments within the laboratory of Army medical hospitals and clinics. Laboratory Technician duties also included blood donation work in all sections of the process.”

His wife’s Facebook page indicates she is deceased.

3. Jakubonis Is Accused of Yelling, ‘You’re Done, Lee’
According to the Batavian, a local business owner named Brandon Lewis witnessed the attack, and he told the news outlet that the suspect yelled, “You’re done, Lee. You’re done, Lee.” He sounded drunk, the newspaper reported.

“It seemed when he grabbed him he wasn’t letting go,” Lewis said. “He wasn’t going in for a hug, let’s put it that way. He didn’t have good intentions.”

Zeldin’s running mate Alison Esposito had scraped knuckles, according to the site.

4. Zeldin Was Speaking About Bail Reform When Jakubonis Is Accusing of Pulling ‘the Blade Out’

The man who allegedly tried to stab Republican candidate for New York governor Lee Zeldin with a bladed weapon during a campaign stop on Thursday was released from jail within hours of his arrest on a felony charge — just as Zeldin had predicted.

David Jakubonis, 43, from Fairport, New York, was arraigned overnight in Perinton Town Court on a count of second-degree attempted assault stemming from the attack on Rep. Zeldin but was quickly released on his own recognizance.

In a tweet after the violent incident in Monroe County, Zeldin, who is running as a tough-on-crime candidate against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, said he expected his alleged assailant to be back on the streets in no time

The weapon used in the attack on Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin appears to be a plastic keychain fob that looks like a cartoon cat’s head and is marketed for “self-defense.”

Photos of the Thursday incident in upstate Monroe County show accused assailant David Jakubonis, 43, with two black points protruding from an item held in his right hand with his index and middle fingers.

The weapon resembles the “My Kitty Plastic Self-Defense Keychain Weapon,” which is designed to mimic a cat’s face with holes for its eyes and other cut-outs for its nose and whiskers.

“Pointed cat ears make this keychain tool ‘purrfect’ for self-defense!” according to The Home Security Superstore website.

The site also says it can be used to “deliver devastating strikes”

The mental state of a New York man who attacked Congressman Lee Zeldin dramatically worsened following his discharge from the Army and the death of his wife, The Post has learned.

David Jakubonis, 43, of Fairport, spiraled into a “rapid decline” in the aftermath of the death of his wife, Candyce, and his medical discharge in 2012, a former neighbor told The Post Friday.

“He’s going through some kind of mental break,” said the neighbor who asked not to be identified due to fears of reprisal. “He became more and more detached over the years after his wife died.”

The former neighbor said he used to spend time with Jakubonis, his wife and their twins while living in Fairport about a decade ago. Jakubonis tried to keep up their relationship as acquaintances, but his regular messages were hard to follow.

“He’s a peculiar guy, he has social issues,” the ex-neighbor said. “He would say or do things like an adolescent would do.”

Jakubonis and his late wife were heavy drinkers, the neighbor alleged, adding his opinion that the Army vet still had issues with booze.

“I believe he still drinks a lot,” the neighbor alleged.

Jakubonis, who never discussed politics or mentioned being angry at anyone, reached out to his former neighbor as recently as Wednesday via Facebook and phone, but the neighbor said he didn’t pick up.

The man accused of attempting to stab New York gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin on stage at a campaign event has been arrested on a federal assault charge, a spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York said, after he was released on his own recognizance shortly following an initial arrest Thursday.

David Jakubonis, 43, was arrested Saturday and charged with assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon, according to Barbara Burns, a Department of Justice spokesperson. Jakubonis made his first court appearance before US Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson in Rochester on Saturday, according to court documents, and the weapon involved was described in court records as a self-defense keychain.
Jakubonis was already facing state charges over the alleged attack Thursday. He had been charged with attempted assault in the second degree after being accused of confronting Zeldin, a Republican, while he was giving a speech in Fairpoint, New York.

According to the criminal complaint filed Saturday, Jakubonis, an Army veteran, allegedly told authorities he had consumed whiskey on the day of the campaign event and "must have checked out" as he walked on the stage and asked if Zeldin was disrespecting veterans. Jakubonis told authorities he did not know who Zeldin was at the time.