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VIDEO: 'The Five' react to NYC DA charging a store clerk with murder over self-defense Jul 7, 2022
'The Five' panelists weigh in on a New York City bodega worker being charged with murder after allegedly being seen on video stabbing ex-con in self-defense.
Jose Alba, a 61-year-old clerk and father of three, in a Bronx bodega aka the "Blue Moon" convenience store in Hamilton Heights, fought off a violent attacker with a knife, killing him. A woman attempted to pay for a bag of chips with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) debit card. Alba handed her the chips. When the EBT card came back with insufficient funds, Alba took the chips back. (Some allegations claim Alba took the chips from the hands of the woman's daughter) The woman became enraged and proceeded to knock items from the counter then stormed off to get her boyfriend, Austin Simon. Ten minutes after the woman left, she returned with Simon. Simon went behind the counter to confront Alba. Alba showed Simon the receipt stating the woman’s card was declined. That did not diffuse the situation. Simon then pushed Alba into a chair and began shouting at him. Alba tried to escape past Simon and that’s when Simon grabbed him, and Alba grabbed a knife and stabbed Simon several times. The men then go off-camera where Simon’s girlfriend (allegedly) attacks Alba with her own knife, pulled from her purse, and stabs Alba three times in the shoulder and hand. She has not been charged, with the DA’s office saying only “we are continuing to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing.” When the complete fight is over, Alba can be seen on video with a deep cut on his arm.
Austin Simon has eight known arrests on charges including assault, domestic assault, and robbery. He was on parole after being jailed for attacking a cop. Simon was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Alba, with no prior arrests nor criminal record, was arrested and sent to Rikers Island. He was charged with second-degree murder and was held on $250,000 bail. (Later reduced to 50K) District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg originally pushed for $500,000 bail. Simon’s girlfriend was not arrested.
Simon’s family said that he “was murdered in cold blood.” Tina Lee, who said she has three children with Simon, called him “a good man” and a “good father” who took “good care” of all his children. Alba’s lawyer said the native of the Dominican Republic came to the US about 30 years ago and became a citizen 14 years ago. The father of three once owned his own bodega, until passing on the business to his son, and has been working at the Hamilton Heights grocery store for about three years before this tragedy.
Consider that one of the core prongs of Bragg's roadmap for D.A. is "reforming pretrial detention"—the notion that how much money a defendant has should not keep him languishing behind bars before he has a chance to prove his innocence. And yet Bragg's office initially sought a $500,000 bond for Alba. This would have all but ensured that he stay locked up before trial, despite a very strong chance that a jury will see his actions as self-defense. (He was eventually released on $50,000 bail after prosecutors brokered a deal with Alba's defense attorney requiring that he wear an electronic monitor and surrender his passport.) Crime data show that in the last three years homicide is up 52 percent in New York City. Shootings are up more than 100 percent, and car theft is up 91 percent, according to the New York Police Department. In 2021, the Big Apple recorded nearly 500 homicides, its most in a decade. A Go Fund Me for Alba's legal defense fund was immediately cancelled by the service.
“My heart goes out for this hard-working, honest New Yorker that was doing his job in his place of business, where a person came in and went behind the counter and attacked him...The DA has a non-mandate, where we cannot dictate or mandate how he determines how he’s going to prosecute crime....That is up to the district attorney, and I’m not going to second-guess the district attorney for his actions....” - NY Mayor Eric Adams
"I saw a worker here inside the store following the law and he should not have been approached in the manner he was approached....It's time for New Yorkers and Americans to stand up for people who follow the law." - NY Mayor Eric Adams
“I have a lot of respect for DA (Alvin) Bragg, a former prosecutor. He has a real vision.” - NY Mayor Eric Adams
“Particularly given the ongoing crisis at Rikers, we must reserve pretrial detention for very serious cases.” - NY DA Alvin Bragg
"I have a lifetime of experience fighting for justice, equality and fairness." - NY DA Alvin Bragg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDO8tJx0iY
TWEET (**MODERATELY GRAPHIC VIDEO**): Ian Miles Cheong XX@XX stillgray
61-year-old bodega worker Jose Alba was attacked by an enraged career criminal, Austin Simon, who went behind the counter and choked him over a bag of chips. Alba defended himself, and Simon died. DA Alvin Bragg has charged him with murder.
8:57 AM · Jul 7, 2022·Twitter Web App
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1545074624127729665
IMAGE of Austin Simon
IMAGE of Jose Alba and stab wound
VIDEO: Criminal defense attorney breaks down Manhattan bodega murder case Jul 8, 2022 CBS New York
The case of the bodega clerk charged with murder in the stabbing death of a man who attacked him behind the counter continues to generate controversy. CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer spoke with Brian Wagner, a former Brooklyn prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney, about the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvPT8DtXug
Direct Headline: An NYC Bodega Worker Defended Himself During An Attack. Now He Faces Murder Charges.
“It was either him or the guy at the moment,” Alba’s daughter Yulissa told the New York Post last week, insisting her father was simply defending himself. “He’s never hurt anybody. He’s never had an altercation where he had to defend himself. This is the first time for him.....”
....The incident began on July 1, when Alba was working at his Hamilton Heights bodega...Simon and the woman returned to the store about 10 minutes later, with Simon forcing his way behind the counter and shoving Alba down onto a chair. Simon then hovered over Alba, according to surveillance footage, acting menacingly. When Alba tried to get around Simon, the younger man grabbed him by the shoulder. At that time, Alba grabs a small knife off a shelf and stabs Simon five times, resulting in his death....
The Post reported that Alba’s defense attorney told the outlet Simon’s girlfriend allegedly stabbed the bodega clerk with a knife during the attack, but she has not been charged with any crimes. The Post reported on Friday that Alba’s stab wounds may be infected, because he only had hot water to clean them with while he was in jail last week, according to the founder of the Bodega and Small Business Group. The Post further reported that Alba had been stabbed four times during the attack in the bodega....
By Ashe Schow Jul 9, 2022
https://www.dailywire.com/news/an-nyc-bodega-worker-defended-himself-during-an-attack-now-he-faces-murder-charges
Direct Headline: New York City Subway Stabber Was Released From Jail Day Before Attack
A New York City man was charged with attempted murder after he stabbed two Subway passengers last weekend. The unprovoked attacks occurred just one day after he got out of jail, where he spent a night after he brandished a knife at police.....Donny Ubiera, who has 14 prior arrests that include charges of assault, on Wednesday flashed a large knife at officers in Queens before fleeing the scene. He was later apprehended and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Ubiera on Thursday was let go on "time served," according to the New York Post. The next day, he stabbed two people on the Subway, leaving them with wounds that required medical attention. One is still in critical care....."This is nothing if not predictable," New York Police Department commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a Sunday statement in which she blamed Ubiera's release on city prosecutors' soft-on-crime approach to criminal justice. "Your police are doing their job. We keep arresting him...."
.....The stabbing spree reflects how a wholesale embrace of criminal justice reform policies, which include fewer prosecutions and increased diversion from prisons, can threaten the safety of communities....Over the past three years, homicides in New York City have shot up 52 percent, shootings are up 104 percent, and car theft is up 91 percent, according to the NYPD. Former Queens district attorney Jim Quinn (D.) in a February New York Times op-ed made the case that the justice reform policies have most harmed black Americans. Sixty-five percent of murders and 74 percent of shootings in the city in 2020 involved black victims, and black New Yorkers were the most victimized by felony assault and rape.....
Josh Christenson June 13, 2022 3:30 pm
https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/new-york-city-subway-stabber-was-released-from-jail-day-before-attack/
Direct Headline: Controversial soft-on-crime policies keep alleged NYC serial stabber out of jail
An alleged serial stabber with dozens of busts under his belt was freed without bail — twice — because of a loophole in New York’s justice laws that leaves prosecutors with little time to secure indictments against dangerous criminals....Dylan Maldonado, 26, a reputed member of the Bloods street gang, was busted in two separate assaults last month near his Midtown apartment and initially ordered held on bail in both cases, at the request of prosecutors.
But prosecutors in Bragg’s office weren’t able to put together their cases and present them to a grand jury to nail indictments against Maldonado in the 144 hours required under state statutes — allowing him to be released....The career criminal’s bail was tossed in both cases, allowing him to walk out of jail, after prosecutors with Bragg’s office hit snags, according to sources and court records......“If he’s a serial stabber, he shouldn’t be out on the street, that’s pretty obvious,” Steven McGregor, one of Maldonado’s alleged victims, railed to The Post Wednesday.
“What kind of social conduct are we trying to upkeep here?” added McGregor, who said he was still traumatized by the May 9 attack....McGregor said he was charging his phone at a kiosk at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street when he was randomly hit in the face and slashed on the right arm.....“I haven’t recovered,” he said. “I got stabbed. It’s a life-changing event. It’s not something you’re going to recover from....”
According to criminal complaints, Maldonado allegedly punched and stabbed two men at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street on May 9 — and then stabbed a cyclist in the leg on May 20.....He is suspected in at least two other similar attacks in Manhattan since Jan. 1 — and has dozens of prior busts in recent years, law-enforcement sources said....“Catch and release does not work,” one frustrated cop told The Post. “You can see it in his eyes. This person is not well.”....Said another, “There is no way this guy should be walking around stabbing four people.....”....He was freed without bail on June 6, however, after the same law triggered his release.....Maldonado was twice freed without bail under New York laws.....
By Joe Marino, Jack Morphet and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon June 8, 2022 7:03pm
https://nypost.com/2022/06/08/soft-justice-reforms-keep-alleged-nyc-serial-stabber-out-of-jail/
**********
The case of Jose Alba is now a political "red ball"
That means woke DA Alvin Bragg ( one of George Soro's handpicked minions supported by millions in campaign dollars with his own brutal track record of egregiously enabling crime in New York) is going to go after Alba for purely political reasons.
1) The GOP and the NRA will support Alba, thus anything they support must be aggressively opposed no matter what by the radical left and the establishment Democrats, even if Alba's life and safety, along with all New Yorkers, are collateral damage. Mayor Eric Adams predictably chickens out completely and leaves the political battle between the GOP on one side and Hochul/Bragg on the other.
2) The current gun law controversy with NY Governor Kathy Hochul's agenda, attempting to sidestep SCOTUS's recent ruling, is being done no favors if there is a widespread case of self defense where a firearm might have operated as a deterrent for a working class minority. Or usage of a firearm, made available by SCOTUS's ruling, would have created a much more expansive legal defense that would eviscerate both Hochul and Bragg in the national daily media cycle. Fellow Bodega owners are going on record and on camera that they believe they should now go get guns to protect themselves. The Team Blue message is clear - If you eventually get a gun when our BS attempts to side step SCOTUS gets overruled, even if you defend yourself, we will still do everything possible to ruin your life because we need the "wedge issue" to create controversy, excite our base to come out and vote and help push more fund raising.
3) Alba is a test case of a successful "legal immigrant" who built a life for his family and chased the American Dream, which smears the current failed catastrophic public policies surrounding the entire Border Crisis. Team Blue doesn't want those who legally immigrated to look like victims of ugly radical pro crime liberal public policy. It also reminds the public that small business owners, many minority owned, were left to be massacred at the will of the woke mob to be burned down and looted during the 2020 mass riots as Democrats egged it on and bailed out many of the repeat offenders.
4) DA Bragg needs to justify his "Identity Politics Mandate At All Costs", thus highlighting that Austin Simon was black, over his actual behavior and crimes. Even though Bragg's actions contradict the policies used in multiple NY cases where violent repeat career criminals stabbed multiple innocent New Yorkers. And were only able to do so because they were let go without bail for many other previous violent crimes. Alba was charged and sent to Rikers, after Bragg previously denounced the punitive unsafe nature of Rikers, and tried to pin Alba down with 500K bail. Consider Alba had no previous criminal record and then compare his treatment by Bragg to the previously mentioned career criminal stabbers let off with no bail. Factor in that prosecutors only lowered Alba's bond to 250K and then again $50,000 after massive public outcry in the national daily media cycle, but Alba could only return home with an ankle monitor and after surrendering his passport. He’s being charged with second-degree murder and is facing up to 25 years in prison.
Here's where this gets complete stupid - If Jose Alba was walking down the streets of New York, and assaulted some random innocent person, up to and including stabbing them right there on the sidewalk for no good damn reason at all, then he would likely be out with no bail in a couple of hours. But, since Alba was defending himself as a working class non African American minority legal immigrant against a black career criminal, whom was out on parole after assaulting a police officer, and since that all lines up with multiple GOP current talking points and media counter narratives, now he has to be politically persecuted. When exactly did Jose Alba lose his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to further the political careers of Alvin Bragg, Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul? Consider that based on Bragg's previous application of policy, based on his "feelings", Alba would have had less legal push back if he had shot a cop or beaten a military veteran to death.
And do you want to hear something even more terrifying? Fox's Greg Gutfield points out that the only thing saving Alba is the existence of video evidence available immediately to a national audience. Gutfield discusses how easy it would have been for Bragg and Hochul to totally railroad Alba without that video. And what kind of rioting, looting, burning and MSM outrage coverage would we all have all seen otherwise then?
I'll leave this here for others to discuss.
'The Five' panelists weigh in on a New York City bodega worker being charged with murder after allegedly being seen on video stabbing ex-con in self-defense.
Jose Alba, a 61-year-old clerk and father of three, in a Bronx bodega aka the "Blue Moon" convenience store in Hamilton Heights, fought off a violent attacker with a knife, killing him. A woman attempted to pay for a bag of chips with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) debit card. Alba handed her the chips. When the EBT card came back with insufficient funds, Alba took the chips back. (Some allegations claim Alba took the chips from the hands of the woman's daughter) The woman became enraged and proceeded to knock items from the counter then stormed off to get her boyfriend, Austin Simon. Ten minutes after the woman left, she returned with Simon. Simon went behind the counter to confront Alba. Alba showed Simon the receipt stating the woman’s card was declined. That did not diffuse the situation. Simon then pushed Alba into a chair and began shouting at him. Alba tried to escape past Simon and that’s when Simon grabbed him, and Alba grabbed a knife and stabbed Simon several times. The men then go off-camera where Simon’s girlfriend (allegedly) attacks Alba with her own knife, pulled from her purse, and stabs Alba three times in the shoulder and hand. She has not been charged, with the DA’s office saying only “we are continuing to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing.” When the complete fight is over, Alba can be seen on video with a deep cut on his arm.
Austin Simon has eight known arrests on charges including assault, domestic assault, and robbery. He was on parole after being jailed for attacking a cop. Simon was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Alba, with no prior arrests nor criminal record, was arrested and sent to Rikers Island. He was charged with second-degree murder and was held on $250,000 bail. (Later reduced to 50K) District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg originally pushed for $500,000 bail. Simon’s girlfriend was not arrested.
Simon’s family said that he “was murdered in cold blood.” Tina Lee, who said she has three children with Simon, called him “a good man” and a “good father” who took “good care” of all his children. Alba’s lawyer said the native of the Dominican Republic came to the US about 30 years ago and became a citizen 14 years ago. The father of three once owned his own bodega, until passing on the business to his son, and has been working at the Hamilton Heights grocery store for about three years before this tragedy.
Consider that one of the core prongs of Bragg's roadmap for D.A. is "reforming pretrial detention"—the notion that how much money a defendant has should not keep him languishing behind bars before he has a chance to prove his innocence. And yet Bragg's office initially sought a $500,000 bond for Alba. This would have all but ensured that he stay locked up before trial, despite a very strong chance that a jury will see his actions as self-defense. (He was eventually released on $50,000 bail after prosecutors brokered a deal with Alba's defense attorney requiring that he wear an electronic monitor and surrender his passport.) Crime data show that in the last three years homicide is up 52 percent in New York City. Shootings are up more than 100 percent, and car theft is up 91 percent, according to the New York Police Department. In 2021, the Big Apple recorded nearly 500 homicides, its most in a decade. A Go Fund Me for Alba's legal defense fund was immediately cancelled by the service.
“My heart goes out for this hard-working, honest New Yorker that was doing his job in his place of business, where a person came in and went behind the counter and attacked him...The DA has a non-mandate, where we cannot dictate or mandate how he determines how he’s going to prosecute crime....That is up to the district attorney, and I’m not going to second-guess the district attorney for his actions....” - NY Mayor Eric Adams
"I saw a worker here inside the store following the law and he should not have been approached in the manner he was approached....It's time for New Yorkers and Americans to stand up for people who follow the law." - NY Mayor Eric Adams
“I have a lot of respect for DA (Alvin) Bragg, a former prosecutor. He has a real vision.” - NY Mayor Eric Adams
“Particularly given the ongoing crisis at Rikers, we must reserve pretrial detention for very serious cases.” - NY DA Alvin Bragg
"I have a lifetime of experience fighting for justice, equality and fairness." - NY DA Alvin Bragg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDO8tJx0iY
TWEET (**MODERATELY GRAPHIC VIDEO**): Ian Miles Cheong XX@XX stillgray
61-year-old bodega worker Jose Alba was attacked by an enraged career criminal, Austin Simon, who went behind the counter and choked him over a bag of chips. Alba defended himself, and Simon died. DA Alvin Bragg has charged him with murder.
8:57 AM · Jul 7, 2022·Twitter Web App
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1545074624127729665
IMAGE of Austin Simon
IMAGE of Jose Alba and stab wound
VIDEO: Criminal defense attorney breaks down Manhattan bodega murder case Jul 8, 2022 CBS New York
The case of the bodega clerk charged with murder in the stabbing death of a man who attacked him behind the counter continues to generate controversy. CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer spoke with Brian Wagner, a former Brooklyn prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney, about the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvPT8DtXug
Direct Headline: An NYC Bodega Worker Defended Himself During An Attack. Now He Faces Murder Charges.
“It was either him or the guy at the moment,” Alba’s daughter Yulissa told the New York Post last week, insisting her father was simply defending himself. “He’s never hurt anybody. He’s never had an altercation where he had to defend himself. This is the first time for him.....”
....The incident began on July 1, when Alba was working at his Hamilton Heights bodega...Simon and the woman returned to the store about 10 minutes later, with Simon forcing his way behind the counter and shoving Alba down onto a chair. Simon then hovered over Alba, according to surveillance footage, acting menacingly. When Alba tried to get around Simon, the younger man grabbed him by the shoulder. At that time, Alba grabs a small knife off a shelf and stabs Simon five times, resulting in his death....
The Post reported that Alba’s defense attorney told the outlet Simon’s girlfriend allegedly stabbed the bodega clerk with a knife during the attack, but she has not been charged with any crimes. The Post reported on Friday that Alba’s stab wounds may be infected, because he only had hot water to clean them with while he was in jail last week, according to the founder of the Bodega and Small Business Group. The Post further reported that Alba had been stabbed four times during the attack in the bodega....
By Ashe Schow Jul 9, 2022
https://www.dailywire.com/news/an-nyc-bodega-worker-defended-himself-during-an-attack-now-he-faces-murder-charges
Direct Headline: New York City Subway Stabber Was Released From Jail Day Before Attack
A New York City man was charged with attempted murder after he stabbed two Subway passengers last weekend. The unprovoked attacks occurred just one day after he got out of jail, where he spent a night after he brandished a knife at police.....Donny Ubiera, who has 14 prior arrests that include charges of assault, on Wednesday flashed a large knife at officers in Queens before fleeing the scene. He was later apprehended and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Ubiera on Thursday was let go on "time served," according to the New York Post. The next day, he stabbed two people on the Subway, leaving them with wounds that required medical attention. One is still in critical care....."This is nothing if not predictable," New York Police Department commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a Sunday statement in which she blamed Ubiera's release on city prosecutors' soft-on-crime approach to criminal justice. "Your police are doing their job. We keep arresting him...."
.....The stabbing spree reflects how a wholesale embrace of criminal justice reform policies, which include fewer prosecutions and increased diversion from prisons, can threaten the safety of communities....Over the past three years, homicides in New York City have shot up 52 percent, shootings are up 104 percent, and car theft is up 91 percent, according to the NYPD. Former Queens district attorney Jim Quinn (D.) in a February New York Times op-ed made the case that the justice reform policies have most harmed black Americans. Sixty-five percent of murders and 74 percent of shootings in the city in 2020 involved black victims, and black New Yorkers were the most victimized by felony assault and rape.....
Josh Christenson June 13, 2022 3:30 pm
https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/new-york-city-subway-stabber-was-released-from-jail-day-before-attack/
Direct Headline: Controversial soft-on-crime policies keep alleged NYC serial stabber out of jail
An alleged serial stabber with dozens of busts under his belt was freed without bail — twice — because of a loophole in New York’s justice laws that leaves prosecutors with little time to secure indictments against dangerous criminals....Dylan Maldonado, 26, a reputed member of the Bloods street gang, was busted in two separate assaults last month near his Midtown apartment and initially ordered held on bail in both cases, at the request of prosecutors.
But prosecutors in Bragg’s office weren’t able to put together their cases and present them to a grand jury to nail indictments against Maldonado in the 144 hours required under state statutes — allowing him to be released....The career criminal’s bail was tossed in both cases, allowing him to walk out of jail, after prosecutors with Bragg’s office hit snags, according to sources and court records......“If he’s a serial stabber, he shouldn’t be out on the street, that’s pretty obvious,” Steven McGregor, one of Maldonado’s alleged victims, railed to The Post Wednesday.
“What kind of social conduct are we trying to upkeep here?” added McGregor, who said he was still traumatized by the May 9 attack....McGregor said he was charging his phone at a kiosk at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street when he was randomly hit in the face and slashed on the right arm.....“I haven’t recovered,” he said. “I got stabbed. It’s a life-changing event. It’s not something you’re going to recover from....”
According to criminal complaints, Maldonado allegedly punched and stabbed two men at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street on May 9 — and then stabbed a cyclist in the leg on May 20.....He is suspected in at least two other similar attacks in Manhattan since Jan. 1 — and has dozens of prior busts in recent years, law-enforcement sources said....“Catch and release does not work,” one frustrated cop told The Post. “You can see it in his eyes. This person is not well.”....Said another, “There is no way this guy should be walking around stabbing four people.....”....He was freed without bail on June 6, however, after the same law triggered his release.....Maldonado was twice freed without bail under New York laws.....
By Joe Marino, Jack Morphet and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon June 8, 2022 7:03pm
https://nypost.com/2022/06/08/soft-justice-reforms-keep-alleged-nyc-serial-stabber-out-of-jail/
**********
The case of Jose Alba is now a political "red ball"
That means woke DA Alvin Bragg ( one of George Soro's handpicked minions supported by millions in campaign dollars with his own brutal track record of egregiously enabling crime in New York) is going to go after Alba for purely political reasons.
1) The GOP and the NRA will support Alba, thus anything they support must be aggressively opposed no matter what by the radical left and the establishment Democrats, even if Alba's life and safety, along with all New Yorkers, are collateral damage. Mayor Eric Adams predictably chickens out completely and leaves the political battle between the GOP on one side and Hochul/Bragg on the other.
2) The current gun law controversy with NY Governor Kathy Hochul's agenda, attempting to sidestep SCOTUS's recent ruling, is being done no favors if there is a widespread case of self defense where a firearm might have operated as a deterrent for a working class minority. Or usage of a firearm, made available by SCOTUS's ruling, would have created a much more expansive legal defense that would eviscerate both Hochul and Bragg in the national daily media cycle. Fellow Bodega owners are going on record and on camera that they believe they should now go get guns to protect themselves. The Team Blue message is clear - If you eventually get a gun when our BS attempts to side step SCOTUS gets overruled, even if you defend yourself, we will still do everything possible to ruin your life because we need the "wedge issue" to create controversy, excite our base to come out and vote and help push more fund raising.
3) Alba is a test case of a successful "legal immigrant" who built a life for his family and chased the American Dream, which smears the current failed catastrophic public policies surrounding the entire Border Crisis. Team Blue doesn't want those who legally immigrated to look like victims of ugly radical pro crime liberal public policy. It also reminds the public that small business owners, many minority owned, were left to be massacred at the will of the woke mob to be burned down and looted during the 2020 mass riots as Democrats egged it on and bailed out many of the repeat offenders.
4) DA Bragg needs to justify his "Identity Politics Mandate At All Costs", thus highlighting that Austin Simon was black, over his actual behavior and crimes. Even though Bragg's actions contradict the policies used in multiple NY cases where violent repeat career criminals stabbed multiple innocent New Yorkers. And were only able to do so because they were let go without bail for many other previous violent crimes. Alba was charged and sent to Rikers, after Bragg previously denounced the punitive unsafe nature of Rikers, and tried to pin Alba down with 500K bail. Consider Alba had no previous criminal record and then compare his treatment by Bragg to the previously mentioned career criminal stabbers let off with no bail. Factor in that prosecutors only lowered Alba's bond to 250K and then again $50,000 after massive public outcry in the national daily media cycle, but Alba could only return home with an ankle monitor and after surrendering his passport. He’s being charged with second-degree murder and is facing up to 25 years in prison.
Here's where this gets complete stupid - If Jose Alba was walking down the streets of New York, and assaulted some random innocent person, up to and including stabbing them right there on the sidewalk for no good damn reason at all, then he would likely be out with no bail in a couple of hours. But, since Alba was defending himself as a working class non African American minority legal immigrant against a black career criminal, whom was out on parole after assaulting a police officer, and since that all lines up with multiple GOP current talking points and media counter narratives, now he has to be politically persecuted. When exactly did Jose Alba lose his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to further the political careers of Alvin Bragg, Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul? Consider that based on Bragg's previous application of policy, based on his "feelings", Alba would have had less legal push back if he had shot a cop or beaten a military veteran to death.
And do you want to hear something even more terrifying? Fox's Greg Gutfield points out that the only thing saving Alba is the existence of video evidence available immediately to a national audience. Gutfield discusses how easy it would have been for Bragg and Hochul to totally railroad Alba without that video. And what kind of rioting, looting, burning and MSM outrage coverage would we all have all seen otherwise then?
I'll leave this here for others to discuss.
