Zeldin poster ‘death threat’
Anti-Semitic scrawl vs. gov candidate
A vandal scrawled threatening and anti-Semitic graffiti on a Long Island lawn sign supporting GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, the pol’s camp said Sunday, just two days before the primary election.
The hateful message, which included a swastika and the number 187, was found on a sign in a yard in Huntington, Suffolk County, the Long Islander’s home turf, his campaign said.
The campaign said the number 187 is the California penal code for murder, and “has been universally adopted as a common death threat.”
Zeldin rep Katie Vincentz added, “In the United States, we settle our scores at the ballot box, and this type of raw hate must never have any home on Long Island or anywhere else in our state and country.
“Congressman Zeldin is thankful for the Suffolk County Police Department as they work to identify the perpetrators.”
Zeldin, 42, faces Rob Astorino, Andrew Giuliani and Harry Wilson in Tuesday’s primary. He was out traversing upstate on Sunday.
The four-term congressman, whom The Post has endorsed, has consistently led in the polls.
Real Clear Politics’ most recent two-week polling average showed Zeldin with 32.5% of the vote vs. 20% for his closest challenger, Giuliani.
The winner will go up against the Democratic victor, likely incumbent Gov. Hochul.
Other GOP gubernatorial candidates also stormed the state on the final Sunday of the campaign.
Video posted on Giuliani’s Twitter page showed him speaking to elderly veterans in The Bronx and posing with New York Mets mascot “Mr. Met” in Bayside, Queens.
“It was great to meet you Mr. Met, absolutely,” Giuliani said in the clip. But Giuliani’s stumping was marred by a scary incident involving his father, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was slapped on the back by a foul-mouthed worker in a Shop-Rite on Staten Island.
“You’re a f--king scumbag,’’ the on-the-clock employee snarled at Rudy, 78, who was glad-handing for his son at the time and told The Post he felt “tremendous pain’’ afterward.
The worker was taken into custody by cops.
Meanwhile, Wilson, a former Obama administration official, campaigned in Rockland County and appeared on the radio program “The Cats Roundtable with John Catsimatidis.”
“The issues that matter most to New Yorkers are crime and cost of living,” he told Catsimatidis.
Former Westchester County Executive Astorino spent the day in Queens and Long Island, he said in a video posted on Twitter.
“Coming down the home stretch here, folks,” Astorino said.
“I’m running because I’m going to beat Kathy Hochul. We’re going to save this state.”
Additional reporting by Zach Williams
Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell’s teenage brother was murdered in Chicago on Friday, kicking off a bloody weekend that also saw a 5-month-old baby killed, as progressive cities nationwide are gripped by rising crime.
“Yesterday was the worst day of my existence. I received a call informing me that my teenage baby brother was murdered on the south side of Chicago,” Caldwell revealed Saturday on Twitter.
“Never could I have imagined my baby brother’s life would be stolen from him,” he wrote alongside a picture of his smiling sibling in graduation attire.
Christian Caldwell, 18, was shot dead and two others were injured after gunfire broke out in Morgan Park early Friday morning, according to reports.
Around 50 shell casings were found at the scene and bullets went through windows of nearby houses, CBS reported.
The suspect fled in a black van, according to cops. No arrests have been made.
The older Caldwell, 36, told Fox News on Saturday he wants justice. “What I’m looking for right now is details from the police to discover who it was that murdered my brother. My baby brother never had a chance,” he said.
“I would never want to see any street justice or violence against
the people who even murdered my little brother. But I do want them brought to justice,” he added.
Crime in Chicago — whose Democratic mayor, Lori Lightfoot, once pushed to defund the police, but later backtracked — has soared 34% in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Chicago police.
Crime up in Windy City
Violent crime — including murder, criminal sexual assault, aggravated battery and robbery — has increased 9% so far this year compared to 2021, the stats show.
Over the first weekend of summer, at least four people were killed and 16 others injured in shootings across the Windy City.
The bloodshed included a 5-month-old baby girl, who was killed in a drive-by shooting when a bullet hit her in the head as she sat in her father’s car Friday night.
A nurse at the Comer Children’s Hospital, who identified herself as Jackie, told WLS-TV, “I’ve never in my 61 years of life seen anything like this.”
Other blue cities nationwide have seen similar trends.
Violent crime is up almost 9% in Los Angeles, up 12% in Washington, DC, and has surged by a disturbing 25.8% in New York City, according to official statistics.
Less than a week before the shooting of his brother, Caldwell shared on Twitter a tear-jerking text message exchange they shared, in which the teenager wished him happy Father’s Day.
“Happy Father’s Day, big bro, you don’t have any physical kids, but I’ve always looked at you as the closest thing to a father figure,” the teen texted.
“You’ve taught me so much, and for that, I’m forever grateful and proud of the things that you’ve done.”
The older Caldwell said in the June 19 tweet, “My little brother has never met his father and as devastating as this is, I am thankful to God for choosing me to be his big brother/father figure.”