Man Who Tried to Stab Lee Zeldin Released From Custody — Prompting Outrage

The man who attacked Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), the GOP nominee in the New York gubernatorial race, was released from custody hours after his arrest on Thursday, prompting outrage.

At a Thursday rally, Zeldin was speaking when David Jakubonis, 43, walked onto the stage and grabbed Zeldin. He appeared to try and stab the congressman with a sharp object before he was pulled to the ground.

Video of candidate for Governor Lee Zeldin being confronted on stage by a guy with some kind of knife.

Attacker just repeats, “You’re done.” lol 🤷‍♂️

Looks like brass knuckles but knife knuckles — this world is just crazy 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6gWNo6KEbx

— 🏔Adam O🏔 (@denverbitcoin) July 22, 2022

Jakubonis was charged with second-degree assault and was released on his own recognizance in accordance with New York’s bail law.

His release came after Zeldin correctly predicted the attacker would get “instantly released.”

The New York Times explained in a report why the man was released. Simply put, judges cannot set bail for nonviolent felony charges.

“Because the crime was attempted, it is categorized as a nonviolent felony. Since 2020, under New York law, judges have been barred from setting bail on that charge; previously, prosecutors could have requested that Mr. Jakubonis be held on bail,” the Times reported.

Conservatives on Twitter expressed outrage over Jakubonis’ release.

The pro-crime policies of the Dems on dangerous full display. This is outrageous & reinforces importance of electing @RepLeeZeldin “Alleged Lee Zeldin attackerattempted attacker charged with felony, immediately released just as congressman predicted” https://t.co/OFwDlIuLBN

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) July 22, 2022

Welcome to New York https://t.co/ljA4pEwgMG

— Garrett Ventry (@GarrettVentry) July 22, 2022

The state released his wanna-be assassin in hours…and charged him JUST with assault instead of attempted murder.https://t.co/1jJCaKPjnk

— Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) July 22, 2022

INSANE: Rep. Lee Zeldin’s attacker, who told him “you’re done” before trying to stab him in the neck, has already been released back into society, without bail.

No attempted murder charge????

— Alana Mastrangelo (@ARmastrangelo) July 22, 2022

Our DOJ, run by partisan Democrats and awful Repubs like @replizcheney, keeps unarmed protestors on Jan. 6th in jail for 18 months without a trial, and lets armed maniacs who try to kill Republican candidate go without bail. https://t.co/0YYZYnx1qI

— Nick Searcy, INSURRECTIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) July 22, 2022

A man tried to murder Lee Zeldin on stage at a campaign event and New York’s soft-on-crime laws immediately released his attacker back onto the streets.

Democrats are the anti-law and order party.

— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) July 22, 2022

Someone violently attacked Lee Zeldin yesterday with a knife trying to do bodily harm to the GOP Gov nominee.

The attacker has already been released on his own recognizance.

Really sad to see how much my home state supports criminals more than victims. https://t.co/AxwuXDn4XU

— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) July 22, 2022

Attempt to murder The GOP nominee for Governor and in Kathy Hochul’s New York, you’ll apparently get released from jail within hours.

Fox News: Alleged Lee Zeldin attempted attacker charged with felony, immediately released just as congressman predictedhttps://t.co/j7m0i54syN

— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) July 22, 2022

Don’t think of this as happening to Lee Zeldin. It’s happening to everyone. The leadership class in New York is simply backing criminals over citizens. https://t.co/z4oYQRKleG via @nypmetro

— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) July 22, 2022

Try to stab a member of congress & you get out of jail the next day?? I don’t understand. Wtf https://t.co/xnlBAVhoDT

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) July 22, 2022

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, condemned the attack on Thursday, but has yet to weigh in on the release of the attacker.