A man who accosted former Rep. Lee Zeldin at an upstate NY campaign stop receives 3 years probation

ROCHESTER, NY– A man who climbed onto a platform for campaign events in New York state last year and endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin was given three years' probation Thursday.

David Jakubonis approached the then-U.S. representative while carrying a key chain with two sharp spikes during a campaign rally near Rochester, New York in July 2022. The two men struggled and Jakubonis pulled Zeldin down before he was subdued, prosecutors said.

Jakubonis' attorneys have said the U.S. Army veteran was drunk and tried to get to the microphone.

Jakubonis, 44, pleaded guilty in September to a charge of assault on a federal officer, setting up Thursday's sentencing hearing. A judge granted his release from prison in October for an alcohol treatment program.

Jakubonis' attorney said his client “is not the same person” 17 months after the incident and has benefited from counseling to address post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorder.

“David is a decorated veteran of the war on terror and has been permanently decommissioned,” John DeMarco wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “I believe these circumstances, along with the support of former Congressman Zeldin (and) the criminal justice system, have made this institution absolutely right.”

Jakubonis deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a medical laboratory technician.