US District Attorney John Sarcone has broken his silence after a knife-wielding illegal immigrant tried to assault him at a Hilton hotel in New York City.
During an appearance on Fox News, Sarcone recounted the details of his encounter with Saul Morales-Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was residing in the United States illegally.
Sarcone told the host that he was walking near the hotel on his way to the state capital. “I noticed this guy who looked crazy and was near the Hilton Hotel entrance,” the district attorney said. “I could have easily just kept walking, but I sensed that there was danger here, and I have an obligation. I'm the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the federal government in the area.”
Sarcone said he “crossed the street” and “walked down and I kept my eye on him, and he definitely appeared to be up to something crazy.”
He walked to the Hilton and continued watching Morales-Garcia, but “didn’t look at him directly.”
This is when the confrontation started. “Next thing you know, he starts screaming at me in a language I didn't understand. I didn't acknowledge him. I kept looking straight ahead,” Sarcone explained. “Then, at the corner of my eye, he starts coming towards me. I turned, I look at him, I still don't say anything. Then he pulls a knife out. He goes like this. He's screaming at me, and then he charges at me.”
The district attorney stated that he “ran towards the lobby” while still watching the alleged assailant. “And before I got to the lobby, he stopped. He was about 10 feet away from me with the knife and still screaming in a language I did not understand,” Sarcone recalled.
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The suspect then walked away, according to Sarcone.
He then called the Sheriff of Albany County and told him to get officers to the scene. He feared Morales-Garcia might attack someone else. “I knew that if he got away, he was going to kill somebody.”
The host pointed out that after the sheriffs arrested Morales-Garcia, they would end up releasing him. Sarcone stated this is because of New York’s bail reform laws.
“The sheriff said, ‘We can only charge them with menacing and having a weapon.’ I said, ‘Sheriff, send your deputies back to the Hilton and get the video. He threatened my life because after he walked away, 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, and he goes like this with the knife, and he's going to slit my throat, and then he charged at me again the second time,’” Sarcone said.
He also stated that Gov. Kathy Hochul called him after the attack and “was very sympathetic and concerned.”
“I said to her, ‘Look, the sanctuary cities aren’t working,’” Sarcone said.
“I sensed that there was danger.”
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 20, 2025
US attorney John Sarcone speaks to @GriffJenkins on @foxandfriends after a previously deported migrant allegedly tried to attack him with a knife in upstate New York. pic.twitter.com/zuy1pPxCYI
Morales-Garcia was arraigned in Albany City Court on Wednesday and remanded without bail. So far, he has not been released. But with New York’s bail reform laws, it is possible that this could change.
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