New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams suggested Rudy Giuliani exaggerated an alleged assault incident at a State Island supermarket, stating Tuesday that "falsely reporting a crime is a crime."
"I looked at the video, and someone needs to remind former Mayor Giuliani that falsely reporting a crime is a crime," Adams remarked to reporters on Tuesday, the same day Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, faced off against other GOP candidates in the gubernatorial race during the primary election.
Rudy Giuliani, 78, was at a ShopRite on Sunday afternoon with his son while he was campaigning.
A man reportedly called out "What’s up, scumbag?" before delivering a blow to the elder Giuliani’s back.
RUDY GIULIANI'S ALLEGED ATTACKER HAS CHARGES DOWNGRADED, IS RELEASED ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE
Surveillance video of the encounter obtained by the New York Post shows the suspect walking up behind Giuliani and slapping him on the back once with an open hand.
Giuliani described it as a "very, very heavy shot" in a Facebook video on Monday.
But the defense team for the suspect, identified as 39-year-old grocery store worker Daniel Gill, said it was nothing more than a pat. Adams described the incident in a similar fashion.
"When you look at the video, the guy basically walked by and patted him on the back," Adams said Tuesday, according to The Guardian. "It was clear that he was not punched in the head. It was clear that it didn’t feel like a bullet. It was clear that he wasn’t about to fall to the ground."
The current mayor asserted that "the district attorney has the wrong person he is investigating."
"What if we didn't have the video? This person would have been accused of a serious crime," Adams said.
Gill’s charges were reduced Monday, and he was released on his own recognizance.
Originally charged with second-degree assault, he now instead faces third-degree assault, third-degree menacing and second-degree harassment charges.
"Given Mr. Giuliani’s obsession with seeing his name in the press and his demonstrated propensity to distort the truth, we are happy to correct the record on exactly what occurred over the weekend on Staten Island," Legal Aid Society, which is representing Gill, said in a statement, according to FOX 5 NY.
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Ultimately, Andrew Giuliani was defeated Tuesday by the other GOP frontrunner, Rep. Lee Zeldin, who received the Republican Party’s nomination.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.