Gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin attacked during Monroe County campaign stop
Published Date: 7/22/2022
Source: WGRZ-TV
Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin was attacked by a man with a knife during a Monroe County campaign event on Thursday. He was not injured. Zeldin was giving a speech when a man climbed onstage and appeared to begin wrestling with the congressman, said Katie Vincentz, who works as a spokesperson for Zeldin's campaign. A video of the event posted on Twitter showed the man appearing to grab Zeldin's arm and the two fell to the ground as other people tried to intervene. 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. His November opponent, Gov. Kathy Hochul, condemned the attack on social media. "My team has informed me about the incident at Lee Zeldin's campaign event tonight," she said. "Relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody. I condemn this violent behavior in the strongest terms possible — it has no place in New York." State Republican Party Chair Nick Langworthy in a statement said he was thankful people there acted swiftly. "Congressman Zeldin was targeted in a violent attack at a campaign rally stop in Monroe County," Langworthy said. "Thanks to the swift action of several brave eventgoers, the perpetrator was subdued. Congressman Zeldin and all of the attendees are safe, but this could have ended much worse." https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/new-york-gubernatorial-candidate-lee-zeldin-attacked-monroe-county-campaign-stop/71-38be6325-cea3-4691-947e-868e8739044e