Moment blade-wielding attacker tries to stab New York governor hopeful at rally

An Iraq war veteran stormed the stage and tried to stab a campaigning lawmaker while he gave a speech in New York.

The Republican party's candidate for New York Governor, Lee Zeldin, was visiting the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Perinton yesterday (July 21) when an assailant approached him on stage.

According to video of the incident, the man then lunges at the candidate with a weapon concealed in his hand.

Joe Chennelly, who was standing in the crowd, told the New York Post: "I saw that he [was] approaching the congressman, so I jumped up on the stage.

“The congressman turned and faced him. I thought he might just be there to hug the congressman or to, you know, maybe heckle him or something along those lines.”

He added: “He reached into his right pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a knife or a razor blade, maybe a box cutter and lunged at the Congressman."

Zeldin, who is currently a sitting US congressman, tried to use his body to block his assailant.

As the man lunged towards him a second time, Chennelly claims to have "tackled him from behind" before moving him to the right of the stage.

Others also rushed to Zeldin's aid, including Alison Esposito - who is the GOP's candidate for lieutenant governor.

Chenelly said Esposito was the person who wrestled the weapon from the assailant's hand.

A woman running for lieutenant governor, who served in the NYPD for 20 years, was among a group who jumped to the GOP lawmaker's aid (Metropolitan Republican Club)

Joe Chenelly, the man who took down the attacker, is a candidate for the New York assembly in 2022, according to his LinkedIn page (Linkedin)

In a tweet, Zeldin announced details of the attack.

He said: “Someone tried to stab me on stage during this evening’s rally, but fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him.”

The suspect is yet to be formally identified, but WROC-TV reported he is a veteran of the Iraq War.

NY GOP Candidate for Governor Rep. Lee Zeldin speaks during his election night party at the Coral House on June 28 (Getty Images)

The Republican candidate's opponent is Kathy Hochul, who currently holds the Governor's post.

She condemned the "violent behaviour" in the "strongest terms possible" on Twitter last night.

She said: "My team has informed me about the incident at Lee Zeldin’s campaign event tonight.

"Relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody.

“I condemn this violent behavior in the strongest terms possible — it has no place in New York.”