Law Signed by Andrew Cuomo Bans Public Release of Mugshot for Lee Zeldin Attack Suspect

A New York state law, signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), is preventing the public release of the booking photo for a man accused of attempting to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).

In 2019, Cuomo sought to ban the public release of all booking photos, arrest records, names, and charges for suspects accused of crimes. The state’s Democrat-controlled legislature moved forward with a similar plan that prevents local and state police from releasing a suspect’s booking photo to the public unless it serves a law enforcement purpose.

The law, which Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has never objected to, is now helping to protect the suspect accused of attempting to stab Zeldin, who is running as the Republican challenger against Hochul in the state’s gubernatorial race.

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In an inquiry to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Breitbart News asked for the booking photo of 43-year-old David G. Jakubonis — the man accused of attempting to stab Zeldin. Officials responded, “pursuant to [New York] Public Officer law section 89-2(b)(viii), we are unable to release Mr. Jakubonis’ booking photo.”

Thanks to another Cuomo-approved law, Jakubonis was released from Monroe County Sheriff’s Office custody immediately following his arrest as a result of the state’s “No Bail” law, which allows suspects accused of violent crimes to be released from jail without having to pay bail.

On Saturday, Jakubonis was charged with federal assault charges, which could lead to the release of his booking photo and possibly keep him behind bars until he faces trial.

Jakubonis is due back in New York court on August 30.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.