A man accused of attempting to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate in the New York gubernatorial contest, during a campaign event has been arrested on a federal charge of assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon.

David G. Jakubonis, 43, of Fairport, N.Y., appeared before a magistrate judge on Saturday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York said in a statement.

Jakubonis allegedly walked onto a flatbed trailer where the congressman was speaking Thursday night, extended a keychain with two sharp points toward him and grabbed his arm, the attorney’s office said. During an ensuing struggle, Jakubonis allegedly pulled Zeldin down onto the bed of the trailer, stating several times, “You’re done.”

N.Y. GOP governor nominee Zeldin attacked at campaign event

Videos from the scene show the attacker climbing onto the stage near Rochester, N.Y., and lunging at Zeldin’s neck. Zeldin grabbed the man’s wrist and others tackled him to the ground. Zeldin later said he was unharmed.

Jakubonis was initially taken into custody Thursday by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, arraigned and released. The federal charges mean he is back in custody ahead of a detention hearing on Wednesday.

Zeldin, who has focused on New York’s rising crime rates in his campaign, wrote on Twitter late Saturday that he was grateful the U.S. attorney’s office “came in to do what NY’s broken pro-criminal justice system could not — uphold the rule of law.” He added that cashless bail “must be repealed.”

Zeldin and other Republicans had criticized Jakubonis’s swift release Friday as a sign of New York’s lax bail laws. Moments before the attacker stepped onto the stage on Thursday, Zeldin was saying that New York residents were increasingly leaving for places like Florida and Texas because they felt “safer” and “freer” there. Attempted assault is not an offense for which suspects can be held pending bail under New York law.

The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

According to Saturday’s federal complaint, Jakubonis told investigators that he was a U.S. Army veteran who had been deployed to Iraq, that he had been drinking whiskey before the incident, and that he did not know who Zeldin was. Jakubonis told investigators that he had gone onstage to ask Zeldin whether he was disrespecting veterans.

When shown a video of the incident, Jakubonis expressed disgust and told investigators that he “must have checked out,” according to the federal complaint. His attorney could not immediately be reached early Sunday.

The incident could fuel ongoing concerns about the rise in violence directed at public figures during a time of heightened political division. Last month, a man with a gun and a knife was arrested near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and the mayor of Louisville was punched during a parade.

In a statement released Friday, President Biden condemned the attack on Zeldin “in the strongest terms.”

“Violence has absolutely no place in our society or our politics,” he said.

Andrew Jeong and Joanna Slater contributed to this report.