Giuliani slap suspect released without bail in Staten Island grocery store incident

STATEN ISLAND (PIX11) --- The man accused of slapping former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani inside a Staten Island grocery store walked free on Monday after his arraignment.

The district attorney's office requested supervised release for Daniel Gill, but he was released on his own recognizance. A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Gill, said he has
"no previous contact with the criminal legal system."

"Our client merely patted Mr. Giuliani, who sustained nothing remotely resembling physical injuries, without malice to simply get his attention, as the video footage clearly showed," the spokesperson said. "Mr. Gill was then followed and threatened by one of Mr. Giuliani’s associates who allegedly poked Mr. Gill in the chest and told him that he was going to be ‘locked up’. He was then needlessly held by the NYPD in custody for over 24 hours."

Giuliani, in the criminal complaint, said the alleged slap on Sunday caused him to stumble forward. He told police he suffered "physical injury including but not limited to redness, swelling, and substantial pain to the back and left side of his body."

Gill was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of assault in the third degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. He's scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 17.

Giuliani's son, gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani, tweeted “MAKE NEW YORK SAFE AGAIN!” several hours after the alleged attack.

“Innocent people are attacked in today’s New York all of the time,” Andrew Giuliani later said Sunday. “This particular incident hit very close to home. The assault on my father, America’s Mayor, was over politics. We will not be intimidated by left wing attacks.”