Rudy Giuliani Attacker Assault Charges Reduced To Misdemeanor Crimes

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is not happy that the charges against a ShopRite employee have been downgraded to a misdemeanor.

On Sunday, the New York Post reported that an “on-duty” ShopRite employee in Staten Island “attacked” Donald Trump’s former lawyer in an unprovoked assault. On Monday morning, law enforcement officers told TMZ that his assault claims are “much ado about nothing it seems.”

“It was a pat,” they added. “This whole thing is a stretch.” However, it seems that the employee is still being charged, as Deadline reported on Monday that his charges had been downgraded to misdemeanor charges, instead of the felony charges Giuliani insisted upon, given that he is over 65 years old.

Ron Filipkowski posted the twenty-second clip from the surveillance video. Although Giuliani had initially claimed that he had been almost knocked down by the employee, it seems like he barely reacts to it in the video.

Ron tweeted, "Video of the 'assault' on Rudy at ShopRite, where Rudy had the person arrested, and said if he wasn’t in better shape he would’ve fallen, cracked his skull, and died."

Ron also shared an audio clip where the 78-year-old politician gives his side of the story, although it doesn't quite match up with what people can see in the surveillance video above.

Giuliani took part in a press conference on Facebook that was transcribed by Deadline. In the video, Giuliani claims it felt as though “a boulder hit me” when the employee allegedly attacked him and claimed that the surveillance footage is “a little deceptive.”

“Yesterday, I was in Staten Island getting ready to campaign for my son. I hadn’t started yet,” Giuliani said on Monday. “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 continued. After he learned that the charges were reduced, he added, “I could have fallen down … Elderly people die most often from falling down.”

The employee, who has been identified as Daniel Gill, was reportedly arraigned on Monday in Staten Island Criminal Court. On Sunday, he had been charged with second-degree assault. However, his charges have since been reduced to misdemeanor charges of Assault in the Third Degree, Menacing in the Third Degree, and Harassment in the Second Degree.

According to Deadline, Gill was released on his own recognizance by Judge Gerianne Abriano. According to the communication director for the Office of the Richmond County District Attorney, Ryan Lavis, Gill is due back in court on August 17.

Eyewitness Rita Rugova-Johnson, who was there to witness the attack, told The Post that she was “stunned” as she witnessed the incident.

“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?’”

According to Giuliani, the employee was also yelling at him over the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 ruling.