Latest news with #JohnSarcone
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
US attorney narrowly escapes knife attack by illegal immigrant, blames New York's sanctuary policies
A top federal attorney in New York is speaking out against the state's sanctuary city policies after allegedly being attacked by a knife-wielding undocumented migrant. John Sarcone III, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, said the incident happened while he was walking to the State Capitol building in Albany. Sarcone says he noticed a man behaving erratically nearby and had a feeling something was wrong. "I could have easily just kept walking," Sarcone told "Fox & Friends" Friday. "But I sensed that there was danger here." According to Sarcone, the man began shouting in a language he didn't understand. "I didn't acknowledge him. I kept looking straight ahead. Then out of the corner of my eye, he starts coming towards me," he describes. The man allegedly pulled out a knife and began "charging" at the attorney, who ran into the lobby of a nearby hotel and called the sheriff of Albany County. "I knew that if he got away, he was going to kill somebody," Sarcone said. He went back outside to try and keep the suspect nearby. "I went to the sidewalk to try to keep him in the area and I yelled out. And he turned around. He yelled back. And then he came back at me," Sarcone said. The man reportedly then made a threatening gesture by drawing a knife across his own neck. Sarcone said he took that as a sign the suspect meant to kill him, "He's [going to] slit my throat." The suspect has been identified as 40-year-old Saul Morales-Garcia, a migrant from El Salvador who entered the United States unlawfully in 2021. He was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder, felony weapons possession and menacing. Sarcone claims the attack was the direct cause of sanctuary city policies and an influx of undocumented migrants. He said he shared that view directly with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul when she contacted him after the attack. "She was very sympathetic and concerned. And I said to her, I said, 'Look, the sanctuary cities aren't working.'" Earlier this month, the Department of Justice launched a lawsuit against New York over similar issues, claiming an act by the state shields criminal aliens from being lawfully detained. The Protect Our Courts Act, passed by New York's legislature in 2020, prohibits federal immigration agents from making civil arrests in or around state courthouses.
New York Post
15 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
US Attorney for NY John Sarcone claims knife-wielding illegal migrant who threatened him ‘was going to kill somebody'
US attorney for New York John Sarcone claimed Friday that a knife-wielding illegal Salvadoran migrant who was charged with threatening to slit his throat was 'going to kill somebody' if he didn't step up to help get him off the streets. Sarcone, the President Trump-appointed US attorney for the Northern District of New York, allegedly encountered a 'crazy' Saul Morales-Garcia — a previously deported illegal migrant from El Salvador — outside the Hilton Hotel in Albany on Tuesday night. Detailing the encounter, Sarcone said Morales-Garcia, 40, aggressively lunged at him multiple times on the street while screaming in a 'foreign language' before he gestured he would slice his throat. Advertisement 'I knew that if he got away, he was going to kill somebody,' Sarcone told Fox News' 'Fox & Friends.' 'I could have easily just kept walking but I sensed that there was danger here.' 3 US Attorney for the Northern District John Sarcone was allegedly threatened by a knife-wielding illegal migrant in Albany on Tuesday. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Advertisement Sarcone said he noticed Morales-Garcia after leaving his office in downtown Albany and decided to keep an eye on him because he 'definitely appeared to be up to something crazy.' The federal prosecutor said he stopped outside the hotel to keep watch when the illegal migrant allegedly started screaming at him. 'I didn't acknowledge him. I kept looking straight ahead. Then out of the corner of my eye, he starts coming towards me. I turned, I look at him. I still don't say anything and then he pulls a knife out. He is screaming at me and then he charges at me,' Sarcone recalled. Sarcone said he started running to the hotel lobby before the alleged perp suddenly stopped and started walking away. Advertisement The prosecutor immediately called the local sheriff on his personal line to alert him. 3 The knife allegedly used in Tuesday night's incident. Albany County Sheriff's Office While waiting for law enforcement to arrive, Sarcone said he went back to the street and yelled out to Garcia-Morales to get his attention and prevent him from disappearing. A screaming Morales-Garcia then allegedly charged at Sarcone yet again while making a throat-slitting gesture at Sarcone with the blade. Advertisement 'I felt an obligation to the public as the chief Federal law enforcement officer in the district that includes the city of Albany,' Sarcone said in a statement in the wake of the alleged ordeal. 'I feared for my life but I couldn't let this individual harm and potentially kill others.' Morales-Garcia was taken into custody immediately after cops arrived on the scene, prosecutors said. 3 Saul Morales-Garcia, 40, was charged with attempted second-degree murder after allegedly threatening to slit the throat of US Attorney John Sarcone. Albany County Sheriff's Office 'US Attorney John Sarcone's selfless actions likely saved lives,' Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. The alleged attempted slasher has been in the US illegally since 2021 after previously being deported. He has a criminal rap sheet in at least three other states outside New York, according to prosecutors. Sarcone said Gov. Kathy Hochul had called him in the wake of the alleged attack after GOP lawmakers started blasting the state's sanctuary city laws. 'She was very sympathetic and concerned and I said 'these sanctuary cities aren't working',' he said of the phone call with Hochul. Advertisement Morales-Garcia has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and menacing in the second degree. He was remanded without bail following an initial hearing in Albany City Court.
Fox News
16 hours ago
- Fox News
Knife-wielding illegal migrant accused of threatening US Attorney on Albany, NY streets
A previously deported illegal migrant with a long rap sheet has been arrested on attempted murder charges in Albany after he pulled out a knife and lunged at the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, according to prosecutors. Saul Morales-Garcia, 40, who is originally from El Salvador, charged at U.S. attorney John Sarcone on Tuesday night while he was outside a hotel, according to prosecutors. Sarcone, who was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi in March, said he feared for his life. The migrant didn't injure Sarcone, who fled into the hotel on Lodge Street and called Sheriff Craig Apple just before 10 p.m. Sarcone said he then went back to the street and called Garcia-Morales in order to stop the migrant from fleeing the scene, believing an innocent person would be killed if he wasn't apprehended. But before law enforcement arrived, Morales-Garcia charged at Sarcone again, screaming and yelling at him in a foreign language while wielding the knife to make a slitting-the-throat gesture, prosecutors said. Sarcone again ran to the lobby of the Hilton where Morales-Garcia stopped, turned and began to walk away but was arrested when sheriff's deputies arrived. Morales-Garcia was taken into custody and the knife was recovered. "I felt an obligation to the public as the chief Federal law enforcement officer in the district that includes the city of Albany," Sarcone said in a statement. "I feared for my life but I couldn't let this individual harm and potentially kill others." Morales-Garcia, who unlawfully reentered the United States in 2021, has been charged with attempted murder, felony weapons possession and menacing, according to court documents. Police said it was a random attack. He was arraigned in Albany City Court and pleaded not guilty. He is currently being held without bail. "Public safety is our highest priority," Sarcone said. "I am relieved that no one was harmed. I appreciated the swift response by the Albany County Sheriff's office, which was within minutes, although it seemed like an eternity." Sarcone said that despite his familiarity with streets, he thinks they are dangerous. "I'm a resident of the city of Albany, and I can't … I don't feel safe to go out for a walk and have a cigar right near the state Capitol," he told Times Union. The sheriff praised Sarcone and said his "selfless actions likely saved lives." Sarcone is responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation in 32 counties in the Northern District of New York. He requested that his office be recused from prosecuting Morales-Garcia for illegally re-entering the United States, which is a felony. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York will now be prosecuting the case. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are also involved in the investigation. Morales-Garcia has a criminal record in at least three other states besides New York, according to the Times Union. Morales-Garcia was convicted in Georgia in 2022 for driving under the influence and driving without a license, and he currently has an active warrant in Forsyth County for failure to appear in court that year. He was arrested in Virginia 2023 by U.S. Park Police on federal property for disorderly conduct while he was charged with retail theft in Philadelphia last year. Fox News Digital reached out to the Albany County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. attorney's office and Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) for comment.
