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Kathy Hochul

New York: 4-in-10 Criminal Suspects Freed by 'Bail Reform' Are Rearrested

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A huge portion of arrest criminal suspects who were freed from jail, thanks to New York’s “bail reform” law that eliminated bail for a series of crimes, were later rearrested on additional criminal charges, state records reveal.

As Breitbart News has chronicled, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the bail reform measures into state law that allows suspects accused of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, child sex crimes, and making threats of terrorism to walk free from jail without ever having to post bail.

Coinciding with the state law is New York City’s Supervised Release Program which allows thousands of criminal suspects to be released following their arrests without having to post bail or being monitored by social workers.

The data shows that from January 2020 to June 2021, the elimination of bail for a wide range of criminal suspects has resulted in thousands being rearrested, often for more serious crimes, The City reports:

But an analysis by THE CITY of data compiled by the state Office of Court Administration and the state Division of Criminal Justice Services reveals a much higher rate more recently: 23% of those freed on supervised release were re-arrested on felony charges from January 2020 through June 2021. [Emphasis added]

And the data show that participants in supervised release are re-arrested at an even higher rate when misdemeanor rearrests are factored in: 41%. [Emphasis added]

In all, four out of every 10 individuals placed in the supervised release program from Jan. 1, 2020 through June 2021 were rearrested after being freed. [Emphasis added]

Months ago, 27-year-old Luis Gabriel Gomez was arrested in Salome, Arizona, after allegedly murdering a mother and daughter in Yonkers, New York. Gomez had been arrested before the murders on arson charges but was released thanks to bail reform.

This week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to change the bail reform law so that criminal court judges have more discretion over setting bail for suspects that they believe will go on to commit more crimes.

“We must allow judges to take dangerousness into account,” Adams said. “… New York is the only state in the country that does not allow a judge to detain a defendant who poses a threat to the community.”

New York state Democrats and Hochul, though, have ignored Adams’ plea.

“If Kathy Hochul wanted to make any changes to bail reform, it would be done,” said New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy said in a statement.

“She likes to talk a good game about the importance of safety, but her actions are the exact opposite … perhaps she should spend less time raising special interest money and more time protecting the people of this great state,” he said.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter here. 

New York says statewide mask mandate is still in effect despite court order declaring it unconstitutional

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The New York state government is claiming that schools must continue to enforce its statewide mask mandate despite a court ruling declaring the order unconstitutional.

In a statement released Tuesday, the State Education Department informed schools that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office and the state Department of Health have filed an appeal after the state Supreme Court (only a trial court in New York, not the highest court) declared the mask mandate illegal Monday. The department claimed that the appeal process triggers an automatic stay on the court’s orders, meaning “schools should continue to follow the mask rule.”

“It is SED’s understanding that the Department of Health will appeal the Nassau County Supreme Court decision, which will result in an automatic stay that will unambiguously restore the mask rule until such time as an appellate court issues a further ruling. Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule,” the Education Department said, according to Fox News.

After the Education Department released its statement, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) accused the Hochul administration of lying about its mask requirements.

“Kathy Hochul and her Far-Left Department of Education are lying to Superintendents causing unnecessary confusion. There is no stay on this court ruling. Kathy Hochul’s authoritarian mandate was deemed illegal by NY Supreme Court,” Stefanik said in a statement put out Tuesday.

“Masks are not mandatory for students, period. Yet Kathy Hochul is still trying to force young children to wear a mask in school, shamefully disregarding the rule of law,” she added.

Stefanik directed her constituents to contact her office if their children are being told they must wear a mask in schools, contrary to the Supreme Court’s order.

Hochul enacted the mask mandate in December 2021. It required that face coverings be worn in schools and other indoor public places to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. But Hochul’s rule was challenged in court by opponents who said the state overstepped its authority by implementing the mandate without going through the state legislature.

On Monday, Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled that the mask mandate was an unconstitutional overreach by the executive branch.

“There can be no question that every person in this State wishes, wants and prays that this era of COVID ends soon and they will surely do their part to see that is accomplished,” Rademaker said. “However, enacting any laws to this end is entrusted solely to the State Legislature.”

Some New York school districts have informed parents that masks will be optional until the state formally filed an appeal, which it has, WABC-TV reported.

The state has asked the Appellate Division court to issue a stay vacating the Supreme Court’s order, which would leave the mask mandate in place during this legal process. Judge Robert Miller presided over a hearing on the state’s request for an interim stay and said he would issue a ruling later Tuesday or Wednesday.

Has Hochul’s Mask Mandate Fallen?

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There is just plain confusion here in New York State. A Nassau County judge overturned the mask mandate for schools. Almost immediately, the state Department of Education sent out a notice to all school districts saying that it would appeal the ruling and that there was an automatic stay, meaning that the mask mandate was still in force.

My own school district sent out a letter early this morning saying that the mandate was still in force and that the district would just try to follow the law as best as it understood it.

Representative Elise Stefanik and Rob Astorino, a former Westchester County executive now running for governor, dispute the fact of the stay on the court order.

Some anti-mask parents are apparently sending their kids to school without masks, or with a print out of the Nassau County ruling.

To be honest, this makes no sense politically for Governor Hochul. The mask mandate was set to expire soon. She could have ended it as soon as Omicron began to fade away, and looked as if she was taking the initiative. If she had shown leadership and gotten ahead of this, it would ease the path for New York State Covid hawks to accept that the situation has changed. Now, with Republicans making hay of it, progressives who are Covid hawks will continue to dig in. And Hochul must either defend her mandate, or will look like she is giving in to conservative opposition.

New York governor gets fact-checked after blaming 'a shot from an illegal gun' for murder of NYPD officer

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was mocked on social media over the weekend after she blamed “a shot from an illegal gun” for killing a New York City police officer on Friday.

What is the background?

Rookie NYPD officer Jason Rivera was murdered and his partner Wilbert Mora critically injured when Lashawn McNeil reportedly opened fire on them in an ambush-style attack. The officers were dispatched to the apartment where McNeil was staying after his mother called 911 and reported a domestic incident.

At the scene, investigators reportedly recovered a Glock .45 pistol that was allegedly reported stolen out of Baltimore, the New York Post reported. McNeil reportedly had a lengthy rap sheet for prior criminal activity and was out on probation at the time of the shooting.

What did Hochul say?

On Saturday, the governor claimed that “a shot from an illegal gun” — not McNeil — took Rivera’s life.

“Last night, a shot from an illegal gun took the life of a @NYPDnews officer,” Hochul tweeted. “When I say we’re going to do everything we can to stop the scourge of illegal guns in our state, it’s not just talk. We are tripling funding for efforts to get these guns off the streets.”


In a video accompanying her tweet, Hochul declared that Rivera’s death is a “resounding call to action” on guns, adding that “we have to do more to fight the scourge of illegal guns on our streets.” She blamed lenient firearm laws in neighboring states for the alleged incursion of illegal guns into the Empire State.

What was the reaction?

Critics pounced on Hochul and her rush to blame guns for the murder of a police officer that happened allegedly at the hands of a person who should not have had a gun in the first place.

  • “Clueless Kathy: A career criminal you & others like to coddle shot the NYPD cops.
    You talk tough on guns but NYC prosecutors drop charges on majority of gun crimes. You resist tougher gun crime penalties. Your ‘bail reform’ is a disaster. Your LG is ‘defund the police’ Wake up!” Rob Astorino, who is running for governor of New York as a Republican,
    said.
  • “Guns don’t kill people…. People kill people. And the person is the problem. If it’s not a gun, then it’s some other type of weapon. The problem here is the person. Need to deal with very mean and evil people with weapons,” another person said.
  • “We are done with this ideology. The illegal guns will continue to be issues as long as there are bad people who are comfortable with the risk proposition to carry them and use them. NYC has the strictest gun laws in the country. They have some of the most lax bail laws,” one person pointed out.
  • “How’d the gun go off? Did it just discharge?” one person mockingly questioned.
  • “Any word on the gun’s motive,” another person mocked.
  • “The murderer once again had a long arrest record & was repeatedly released from jail. We desperately need to revisit bail reform. It’s impossible to live in NY,” one person said.
  • “Im sorry but talking about ending illegal guns right now is bull sh**. It’s not something you can do overnight Do something that will address the criminals. End the ridiculous bail reform that has only made things worse. Sometimes you have to admit when things done work!!!” another person said.
  • “Guns just walking around shooting people on their own? Is this gun related to the SUV that ran over a parade in Waukesha?” one person mocked.
  • “A shot from an illegal gun’ fired by a human with an extensive criminal record, right?” another person mocked.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) also seemingly placed partial blame for the murder of Rivera on guns, and he is demanding intervention from federal officials to help curb the influx of guns into the Big Apple.

New York Governor Blames 'Illegal Gun' in Fatal Shooting of NYPD Officer

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) blamed an “illegal gun” in the fatal shooting of NYPD officer Jason Rivera on Friday night.

Rivera, 22, was shot and killed and a second officer, Wilbert More, 27, was shot and wounded, Breitbart News reported.

The shooting suspect, Lashawn McNeil, 47, opened fire on Rivera and More as they approached him in a long hallway, CBS New York noted. McNeill was then shot twice by a third officer.

On Saturday, Hochul tweeted, “Last night, a shot from an illegal gun took the life of a NYPD officer.” 

“When I say we’re going to do everything we can to stop the scourge of illegal guns in our state, it’s not just talk. We are tripling funding for efforts to get these guns off the streets,” Hochul added.

New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) responded to the shooting death of Rivera by calling for more gun control, Breitbart News reported. 

New York has some of the most stringent gun controls in the country. Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety ranks New York No. 3 in the nation “for gun law strength.”

Those laws include everything the Democrats are pushing at the federal level under the guise of safety, including universal background checks, a “high capacity” magazine ban, an “assault weapons” ban, a permit requirement to buy a handgun, a red flag law, gun storage requirements, “ghost gun” regulations, and a prohibition against gun possession by felons, among other controls.

McNeil, the man who allegedly shot the NYPD officers Friday night, is a convicted felon.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at [email protected]. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.