U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin on Friday urged voters to go to the polls “like your life depends on it” in an effort to link his Democratic gubernatorial opponent, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, with a rise in crime.
Zeldin tweeted the front page of the New York Post showing a homeless man with 25 prior arrests who is accused of raping a jogger in New York City’s West Village Thursday morning.
“This is the reality of life in Kathy Hochul’s New York. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does,” he wrote.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s campaign.
Carl Phanor, 29, was arrested Thursday and charged with predatory sexual assault, criminal sex act, strangulation and robbery, all felonies.
He is accused of attacking a 43-year-old woman as she was jogging at about 5:30 a.m. He allegedly knocked her to the pavement and choked her before raping her. He reportedly then approached another female jogger who called 911.
In addition to the two incidents on Thursday, Phanor was wanted by the NYPD in at least two other sexual assaults. On the morning of Oct. 6, Phanor allegedly approached a 48-year-old woman from behind, placed her in a chokehold and attempted to rape her.
On Friday, he appeared in court, where he was ordered held without bail but didn’t enter a plea. He will undergo a mental health evaluation and has another court appearance scheduled for Nov. 9.
At Friday’s hearing, public defender Michael Papson argued Phanor should be granted bail.
“My client is homeless, has nowhere to live, has no income. He essentially has no chance in life,” Papson said. “He’s 28 years old. He was abandoned by his parents when he was young. There are other traumatizing things that he related to me from his younger life that I don’t want to put on the record at this time.”
Prosecutor Lauren Breen said the suspect has displayed a predatory pattern in which he has targeted women either walking or jogging on the street.
LEE ZELDIN: KATHY HOCHUL ‘BLED OUT’ A LOT OF SUPPORT TONIGHT
“He attacked each of them from behind, choked them, and used force to sexually assault each of the three victims,” she said. “It appears that the defendant’s amount of force has escalated. The victim from yesterday currently remains in the ICU for receiving treatment from several bone fractures, and she choked to the point of losing consciousness.”
Zeldin, a Republican, has continued to criticize Hochul on New York state crime rates. In response, Hochul has ramped up her messaging on lawlessness.
“Murders and shootings down 15% since I’ve been governor,” she said Wednesday.
She said she inherited the high crime rate upon becoming governor following Andrew Cuomo’s early resignation last year.
On Friday, Zeldin was heckled by protesters at the site of Thursday’s rape. One protester can be heard saying: “There is no crime emergency” while another said: “If there is, what’s your plan?”
In response to a video of the incident, Zeldin tweeted: “These protestors & their far-left, pro-criminal agenda have somehow managed to dangerously set the agenda in the NYC Council & Albany.”
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.
