US Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, was attacked by a man who tried to stab him at an upstate event on Thursday but managed to escape unharmed, his campaign said.
Zeldin was giving a speech when a man came onstage and appeared to start wrestling with the congressman, said Katie Vincentz, a spokeswoman for Zeldin’s campaign. A video of the event in Perinton posted on Twitter showed the man appearing to grab Zeldin’s arm and the two falling to the ground as other people intervened.
Zeldin’s campaign said the attacker was taken into custody and the congressman continued his speech. He is challenging incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul in November.
New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy told the Associated Press he did not have any details about the attacker or his weapon, but later exchanged text messages with Zeldin while the congressman spoke with police.
“He’s fine. He’s not seriously hurt. It’s just a chaotic scene there,” Langworthy said.
Langworthy said Zeldin had “just a little scratch,” but it wasn’t what anyone would consider an injury. The president said he was told that Zeldin’s running mate, former New York Police Department Deputy Inspector Alison Esposito, was among those who helped subdue the man.
Langworthy is asking Hochul to issue a security detail for Zeldin to protect him on the campaign trail.
“This could have gone a lot worse. This really could have ended in a horrible way tonight and this is unacceptable,” she said.
Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who has represented eastern Long Island in Congress since 2015, is a staunch ally of former President Trump and was among the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the election results. of 2020.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.