Alvin Bragg labeled 'corrupt' as Lee Zeldin slams him for dropping charges against Columbia University protesters
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former NY gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin joined co-hosts Will Cain, Rachel Campos, and Charles Hurt to discuss Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg deciding to drop charges against pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University on the Saturday, June 22 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'
The DA's office announced dropping charges against 32 out of 46 protestors arrested on the night of April 30 after they took over the academic building at Columbia and barricaded themselves inside, on Thursday, June 20, according to the Daily Mail. They were initially charged with a misdemeanor of trespass in the third degree.
Statement from Manhattan DA's office
Stephen Millan, a prosecutor in Bragg's office reportedly told the court on Thursday that they would not prosecute 30 protesters who were students of Columbia University at the time of the arrest, nor two who were Columbia employees. A case against another student was dismissed earlier in June.
Prosecutorial discretion and lack of evidence were cited as reasons for the charges being dropped. Milan explained that protesters had covered surveillance cameras, and there was insufficient evidence to show that any individual defendant damaged property or injured anyone.
He further noted that no law enforcement officers were injured during the arrests.
Lee Zeldin's take on development
"There is no justice system when you have Alvin Bragg as your prosecutor," the former US Representative from NY told 'Fox & Friends' on Saturday. "There were criminal laws that were broken and there are no consequences."
"So for those helpless Jewish students and members of the faculty who were hoping that there would be consequences after watching all these crimes getting committed, this is another day of disappointment."
"If you're not going to have the accountability that you need on campus then the culture is going to continue to get eroded, laws are going to get broken, the prosecutor is not going to prosecute - this will get worse, the people who have committed these crimes will only get emboldened," he later added.
Internet slams Alvin Bragg
The comments on the 'Fox & Friends' clip on YouTube were strongly critical of Alvin Bragg, in line with Zeldin's stance, as the following examples demonstrate.
"Vile! Bragg has got to go!!" exclaimed a viewer.
"Why stop BREAKING laws & COMMITTING crimes if there are NO consequences?" inquired another.
"Just face it Brag is bragging about his power as a corrupt DA," stated a third.
"Corrupt to the core," echoed a fourth viewer.
"Bragg is a joke," slammed a fifth.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
