Charge Against Giuliani Backslapper Reduced To Misdemeanor; Rudy Calls Video “Deceptive”

Jill Goldsmith
·3 min read
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A hoarse and angry Rudy Giuliani decried the downgrading of charges to misdemeanors in the Staten Island slapping incident, saying he felt as if “a boulder hit me” at the supermarket. Video showing the suspect backslapping Giuliani is “a little deceptive,” the 78-year-old former Trump lawyer said.

See the video below.

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Suspect Daniel Gill was arraigned today in Staten Island Criminal Court on misdemeanor charges of Assault in the Third Degree, Menacing in the Third Degree, and Harassment in the Second Degree, and released on his own recognizance by Judge Gerianne Abriano. The next court date is August 17, according to Ryan Lavis, communication director for the Office of the Richmond County District Attorney.

Gill initially was charged on Sunday with second degree assault.

“Yesterday, I was in Staten Island getting ready to campaign for my son. I hadn’t started yet,” Giuliani said during press conference on Facebook. “I went to the men’s room, walked back with a group of friends and all of a sudden, without any warning, was hit very, very hard on the back. To such an extent that it knocked me back about two steps. People around me helped me. People around me secured the person who did it. The videotape that you see is probably a little deceptive, it just shows a hand on my back.”

“The police observed the whole videotape, and charged him with second degree assault,” Giuliani said. He was irate, having just heard the charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor.

“I could have fallen down … Elderly people die most often from falling down,” Giuliani said.

After the slap, Gill swore at Giuliani about “killing women,” apparently referencing the recent Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The controversial former NYC mayor was campaigning for his son’s gubernatorial bid in the city’s Staten Island borough. The assailant was immediately arrested by police.

“I was stunned,” eyewitness Rita Rugova-Johnson told The New York Post after the attack at the supermarket. “I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Rudy inside ShopRite,” Rugova-Johnson said. “We’re talking, and all of a sudden an employee came out of nowhere and open-handedly slapped him in the back and said, ‘Hey, what’s up, scumbag?’

Today, Giuliani said, referencing an alleged bounty on his head by the Sicilian mafia, “I am not allowed to go to Sicily. You think I worry about this little punk? I worry about this little punk for you.”

A former attorney and adviser for President Donald Trump, Giuliani caused a stir earlier this year when he was unmasked as an exiting costumed contestant in Season 7 episode of Fox’s popular primetime series The Masked Singer. Judges Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke left the stage in protest of Giuliani’s appearance when his identity was revealed.

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