Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani wants the ShopRite employee who allegedly struck Giuliani on the back as he campaigned for his son on Sunday to be prosecuted to set an example and deter political violence.
Giuliani, 78, said he was at a ShopRite on Staten Island to campaign for his son, Andrew Giuliani, who is seeking the GOP nomination for New York governor, and was talking with people when he felt the blow to his back.
During a Monday morning news conference on his Facebook page, the former New York City mayor said he lurched forward but did not fall.
"It was as if a boulder hit me," he said.
Giuliani believes the employee, Daniel Gill, 39, should be fired and said, "Darn right, I think he should be prosecuted."
"I'm a Christian and a Catholic and I forgive," he said. "But I also believe in punishment as deterrent. I believe [if] you let Mr. Gill go, a lot more of these crazy pro-choice people are going to start attacking people."
Giuliani said the suspect shouted "dirty curse words" at him and called him a "woman killer," referencing the decision by the Supreme Court on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that established a federal right to abortion.
"This has to stop, this idea that you attack people because, in my case, I'm pro-life," he said. "I'm not protesting against other people. I respect the fact that there's a division of opinion in this country."
Gill was charged with second-degree assault, according to the New York City Police Department.
Giuliani said he will see a doctor later in the day on Monday for lingering shoulder pain.
"It was painful all night," he said. "It was hard to sleep. But I'm telling you, it was a very, very heavy shot."
"I'm in good shape for a 78-year-old," the former federal prosecutor continued. "He could've easily hit me, knocked me to the ground and killed me by my head getting hit."
He said he will continue to campaign "very publicly," despite the supermarket incident.
In a statement Sunday night, Andrew Giuliani said, "Innocent people are attacked in today's New York all of the time."
"This particular incident hit very close to home," he continued. "The assault on my father, America's Mayor, was over politics. We will not be intimidated by left wing attacks."
Giuliani said he did not require medical attention at the time of the incident.
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