I have a column in the New York Post about the violent assault on Lee Zeldin by a man wielding a deadly weapon — a brass-knuckles-type contraption with spiked prongs (and bear in mind that the assailant, whom we must describe as “alleged,” is a military veteran trained in close combat). New York state penal law and procedure have become such a joke that the alleged assailant was not only charged with attempted assault in the second degree (did that look like a mere attempt to you?) but was released on his own recognizance.
By good fortune alone, Zeldin was not seriously hurt. But under Democrat-backed “reforms,” this means the “attempted” assault, though classified as a felony (Class D), is one for which release may not be conditioned on the posting of bail. New York, moreover, is the only state in the nation which does not permit detention based on a judicial finding that the suspect poses a danger to the community (as opposed to a flight risk).
Zeldin is the Republican candidate for governor of New York. Not ironically, he addressed the insanity of New York’s bail laws in the speech during which he was attacked — at a VFW event in Perinton, N.Y. (in Monroe County near Rochester).
Zeldin also happens to be a member of the United States House of Representatives. That makes him a federal officer for purposes of the laws against assaults on same. (The cognizable officials, which include officers of any branch of the U.S. government, are listed in Section 1114, the statute covering murder and attempted murder. This list is referenced in Section 111, which covers assaults on federal officers.)
If there is going to be a meaningful prosecution of Zeldin’s attacker, it will have to be done in federal court. There, the accused would face a real bail proceeding, in which he could be detained as a danger to the community (under Section 3142(e)). Even if not detained, he would be released only on stringent conditions (e.g., house arrest, bracelet monitoring) along with the posting of bail.
I write here to add just one thing: If Zeldin were a Democrat, his assailant would already have been arrested by the FBI, and he’d be in custody after his initial bail hearing in federal court, at the urging of federal prosecutors from the office of Trini E. Ross, the Biden-appointed United States attorney for the Western District of New York (which has jurisdiction over Monroe County, where the assault occurred).
Moreover, if Zeldin were a Democrat, one of the biggest stories in the country, in tandem with the brazen, near lethal assault of a New York Democrat, would be the fact that the assailant was a military veteran, and thus likely tied to some white-supremacist militia at war with “our democracy.” There would be renewed calls by Democrats, echoed by their media chorus, for passage of their Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.
Anyone doubt me on that?