A man who accosted Rep. Lee Zeldin on stage as the Republican campaigned for governor will remain in custody while a federal judge considers his lawyer’s plea to release the Army veteran, who he said was in an alcoholic relapse.
, 43, faces a federal count of assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon for the attack July 21 in the Rochester area. The charge carries a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Defense attorney Steven Slawinski said Jakubonis was only reaching for Zeldin's microphone to stop him from talking, under the mistaken belief Zeldin was disrespecting veterans. He blamed the episode on a relapse triggered by a breakup with a girlfriend. Judge Marian Payson said she would make a detention decision after considering whether Jakubonis' actions last week were "aberrant" behavior and whether there is enough support in place if he is released from jail. She said she wanted to review Jakubonis' mental health history.
The federal criminal complaint filed Saturday said Jakubonis "did not know who the speaker was or that the speaker was a political person." It said that when Jakubonis watched video of the incident he told investigators he "must have checked out" and that what was depicted in the video was disgusting.
A big part of Zeldin’s campaign message has been a promise to get tougher on criminals. Almost immediately after the on-stage altercation with Jakubonis, he sought to link a New York bail reform law passed by Democrats to his own case. Afterward, Zeldin tweeted that his assailant’s release was "due to New York’s insane cashless bail law."
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