Rudy Giuliani, the man who infamously exclaimed “Let’s have trial by combat” ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, says he was viciously attacked Sunday by a man who… patted him on the back.
The incident came on Sunday as “America’s Mayor” and counsel to former President Donald Trump was campaigning on Sunday for his son Andrew, who is running for governor, at a ShopRite on Staten Island — and he claimed that the suspect violently hit him while his back was turned.
“I got hit as if a boulder hit me,” Giuliani said at a virtual press conference. “It knocked me forward a step or two. It didn’t knock me down, but it hurt tremendously.”
The suspect, 39-year-old Daniel Gill, an employee of ShopRite, was arrested soon after the incident, and charged with felony second-degree assault.
A court complaint said that the former mayor, who also served as former President Donald Trump’s private attorney, suffered “redness, swelling and substantial pain to the back and left side of his body.”
Giuliani also claimed his physical fitness, at age 78, kept him from falling to the ground.
“If I wasn’t [in shape], I would have hit the ground and probably cracked my skull.”
Gill, according to witness and court documents, then verbally confronted Giuliani over the Supreme Court’s recent decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, and sent the issue of abortion to state legislatures around the country.
“The Supreme Court made a decision,” Giuliani said. “You don’t go around attacking people because of it. I mean, go get it changed.”
“Innocent people are attacked in today’s New York all of the time. This particular incident hit very close to home. The assault on my father, America’s Mayor, was over politics,” said the younger Giuliani. “We will not be intimidated by left wing attacks. As governor I will stand up for law and order so that New Yorkers feel safe again.”
During his time in politics, while running for mayor, senate and president in 2008, Giuliani had been publicly supportive of abortion rights.
Video emerges
But legal eagles say Giuliani’s assault claims are as exaggerated as claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Subsequently-released video released, however, casts doubt on the seriousness of the incident, showing Gill approach Giuliani amid a group of people and use his right hand to slap the back of the pol’s left shoulder — while Giuliani remained unmoved, other than to turn his head towards the suspect.
https://twitter.com/BNNBreaking/status/1541205110784593920
“The video is clear,” said Gill’s attorney, Susan Platis. “The video is clear that this was just a tap on the back.”
Gill was later arrested and held by the NYPD in custody for over 24 hours, according to Platis, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society.
Giuliani declined medical treatment on the scene.
After originally being charged with second-degree assault, which has a maximum of a 7-year prison sentence, the charges were later downgraded to third-degree assault, third-degree menacing and second-degree harassment .
Still, the charges are too much, said Platis, who claimed her client was simply trying to get the former mayor’s attention.
“The charges facing Daniel Gill, who has no previous contact with the criminal legal system, are inconsistent with existing law,” Platis said. “Our client merely patted Mr. Giuliani, who sustained nothing remotely resembling physical injuries, without malice to simply get his attention, as the video footage clearly showed.”
Bail reform advocates were also up in arms, calling for Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon to drop the charges against Gill.
“It’s unconscionable, though not surprising, that the NYPD would charge a grocery store worker with a violent felony for tapping a person on the back. With the spate of deaths on Rikers, it’s especially concerning that the worker was charged with a bail-eligible offense, putting the person at risk of being jailed before having his day in court,” said Marvin Mayfield, Director of Organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives. “Giuliani’s hysterical statements to the press must not be allowed to distract from the facts of the case.
An eventful time for Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani is keeping busy as a surrogate for his son’s bid for the Republican nomination for governor, with the primary ending on Tuesday — but he’s also had his hands full before the House of Representatives’ Jan.6 committee.
Last month, he met with the panel for over 9 hours, as the members of the committee probed him with questions about his involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, as well as the insurrection that followed during congress’ joint session to count the electoral votes and solidify President Biden’s ascension to the Oval Office.
Giuliani spoke at the rally preceding the insurrection, and attempted to slow down the process of certifying the election using allied senators like Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville.
“Let’s have trial by combat,” Giuliani infamously told the Jan. 6 crowd, many of whom later proceeded to storm the U.S. Capitol in the first attack on the heart of American democracy in two centuries.
Last year, a New York appellate court suspended Giuliani’s license to practice law, citing his false statements about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
