Rudy Giuliani Reportedly Assaulted
Rudy Giuliani Attacked by Worker at Staten Island Supermarket, Sources Say
The mayor who led New York City during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was allegedly assaulted in a Staten Island supermarket.
The former mayor Rudolph Giuliani was reportedly campaigning for his son, Andrew, in a Staten Island, N.Y., ShopRite grocery store. A man identified as a ShopRite employee allegedly assaulted hizzoner.
“I was stunned,” eyewitness Rita Rugova-Johnson reportedly said after the attack at the Veterans Road supermarket.
“I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Rudy inside ShopRite,” Rugova-Johnson said, according to a New York Post report. “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?’”
“[The attacker] was on duty at the time,” the witness said, adding, “the cops arrested him.”
The Post reported sources said police took the assailant into custody at the store, but the suspect’s name and charges were not immediately available.
A Sunday afternoon telephone call to Staten Island’s 120th Precinct for comment was not immediately returned.
Giuliani continued his political career after NYC term limits prevented him from running for another term as the mayor of Gotham. The legally-trained politician is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump. He was part of Trump’s legal team litigating Trump’s claims the 2020 election stole the presidency from him.
He was helping promote his son’s bid to secure the Republican nomination for New York state governor in a contest against Long Island State Representative Lee Zeldin. The former mayor’s Staten Island meet-and-greet for his son included posing for photos, which he was doing when he was attacked, according to his partner, Dr. Maria Ryan.
Ryan was N.H.-based Cottage Hospital’s CEO for ten years before resigning January 30, 2021. Giuliani denied in 2018 he was in a relationship with her. He further denied Ryan caused the breakup of his 15-year marriage.
Ryan accompanied the former Big Apple mayor to a 2019 White House dinner and they have travelled together extensively. The two launched a radio show in 2020, “Uncovering the Truth with Rudy Giuliani and Maria Ryan,” which airs on the NYC station WABC.
“Rudy was assaulted,” Ryan said about Sunday’s alleged attack. “He’s a 78-year-old man with a bad back and bad knees.”