Man Guilty in Attack on Black Lives Matter Protest With Claw and Car

A Queens man who menaced a peaceful group of Black Lives Matter protesters with a bladed glove and then drove his car at them faces a long prison term after being convicted on nine attempted murder counts and other charges, officials said on Monday.

The man, Frank Cavalluzzi, was found guilty after a two-week jury trial, Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, said in a statement.

Mr. Cavalluzzi, 57, of Flushing, is to be sentenced in October. He faces up to 25 years in prison on each of the attempted murder counts, officials said.

SEE IT: Man gets out of his car with a knife contraption and tries to attack #BLM protestors in Whitestone, Queens. Police say “no arrests at this time and the investigation is ongoing.” pic.twitter.com/r1bWnSJlgV

— Myles Miller (@MylesMill) June 3, 2020

“A dangerous man is going to jail,” Ms. Katz said. “It’s a good day for New York and the First Amendment.”

Mr. Cavalluzzi’s lawyer, Michael D. Horn, attributed his client’s behavior during the June 2020 episode to mental illness and to what Mr. Horn described as Mr. Cavalluzzi’s uneasiness over the present state of New York City.

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On June 2, 2020, a week after Mr. Floyd was killed, Mr. Cavalluzzi was driving his S.U.V. in the Queens neighborhood of Whitestone when he came upon protesters at an intersection where they had hung signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, court documents show.

Mr. Cavalluzzi stopped his vehicle across the street and began screaming profanities and racial slurs at them, court documents show. “You are in the wrong neighborhood,” was among the things he said, according to court documents.

Suddenly, prosecutors said, he made a U-turn and got out of the S.U.V. with a bizarre accouterment on his right arm: a leather glove with four serrated blades attached to it, resembling something from a horror movie. He chased several of the demonstrators while waving the bladed glove, prosecutors said.

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