“Congressman Zeldin, Alison Esposito and all members of Team Zeldin are safe following tonight’s attack,” spokeswoman Katie Vincenz tweeted Thursday.
Zeldin was giving a speech in Fairport, New York, when a man walked on stage “and attempted to stab” Zeldin, the campaign said in a statement. The GOP lawmaker “grabbed the assailant’s wrist to restrain him until several others assisted him in bringing the assailant to the ground,” according to the statement.
The congressman returned to the stage to finish his remarks after the alleged perpetrator was taken into custody, Zeldin’s campaign said.
David G. Iakubonis, 43, of Fairport, N.Y., has been charged with attempted second-degree assault, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. He was arraigned in city court and released on his own recognizance. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, Zeldin’s opponent in the November gubernatorial election, tweeted Thursday night that she was “relieved to hear” that he was not injured in the incident.
“My team briefed me on the incident at Lee Zeldin’s campaign event tonight. I was relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect was in custody. I condemn this violent behavior in the strongest possible terms – it has no place in New York,” Hochul wrote.
Zeldin announced his run for governor last year, tweeting that “the light that was a beacon of what America can be has gone dark.” He won the GOP nomination in last month’s race.
Zeldin was a vocal defender of former President Donald Trump during his presidency, including publicly defending him during his second impeachment trial. He also echoed Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and voted against certifying the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Zeldin was first elected to Congress in 2014 after serving four years in the New York State Senate.
Hochul, meanwhile, defeated progressive primary challenger and New York public advocate Jumaane Williams, whom he also defeated in the 2018 lieutenant governor primary.
CNN’s Samantha Beach contributed to this report.
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