Man who allegedly 'assaulted' Rudy Giulani has charges reduced

A ShopRite worker who was arrested after he allegedly hit Rudy Giuliani in the back has had his charges downgraded, the New York Post reports.

Daniel Gill, 39, left a Staten Island Criminal Court after his arraignment Monday.

Gill, who has no previous criminal history, had his charges downgraded to third-degree assault, third-degree menacing, and second-degree harassment over the caught-on-camera attack inside the supermarket. He was initially charged with second-degree assault involving a person over age 65. He was allowed to be released on his own recognizance.

“It appears to be a tap on the back and not a slap,” Gill’s defense attorney, Susan Platis, had argued during his arraignment. “This is not criminal contact, it is very unlikely that the touch could have caused any injury. So to call this assault in the third, or even menacing, is a stretch.”

Giuliani refused medical attention at the scene, but complained of swelling and “much more pain” due to the incident.

Security footage of the incident shows Gill come up behind Giuliani and slap him on the back before apparently exchanging words with him. While the slap doesn't seem to reflect Giuliani's account, he can been slightly lurching forward after Gill makes contact with his back. Giuliani has called for Gill to be locked up, saying he could have easily been killed if he’d been knocked to the floor.

“This guy should be in prison,” Giuliani said during a virtual press conference ahead of Gill’s court appearance, then later slammed the downgrading of charges, saying “finally, I thought we had a DA in New York in Staten Island who was a real DA in favor of protecting victims and not letting criminals go free.”

Giuliani claims the man said the former New York City mayor "kills women" due to his stance on abortion.