A Democrat New York City councilman will testify against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying the woke DA has contributed to the city's "lawlessness."
Bob Holden will appear at the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, "Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan," next week, pointing fingers at Bragg's soft-on-crime policies is driving chaos into the streets of the city.
"When Bragg came in, he issued that ridiculous edict that he was not going to prosecute smaller crimes," Holden said. "What do we have in New York City? We have lawlessness on the streets."
Holden, a long-time New Yorker, said he had never seen the city so dangerous as it is now, noting the timing of the rise in crime directly correlates to when Bragg took over as DA in January 2022.
"I have an issue with soft-on-crime politicians and DAs, so, you know, I offered. I said, 'Look, I have a view of this that's different from my Democratic, or most of my Democratic colleagues, so I would say that there are issues why New York City is the way it is," Holden said.
Holden recalled that on day one of Bragg being in office, red flags went up throughout the city. Then, on his third day in office, the woke DA ordered prosecutors not to give out prison sentences for several crimes and downgrade charges for crimes such as robberies and commercial burglaries.
He noted New York's crime issue improved when Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in office. Then, however, it rapidly declined through the years as the city's implementation of a sweeping bail reform law in 2020 took effect.
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"I credit Rudy Giuliani as the mayor who saved New York… I lived through that. They don't like to hear it. But I lived through it," Holden said. "I remember the city turning around, and we had 17 straight years of decline in crime until the bail reform, and then you couple that with DAs like Bragg, and it's a bad, bad recipe there."
As a result, Bragg claims, police officers don't have the motive to arrest and implement law and order in the predominantly blue city.
The Republican committee also plans to have Madeline Brame, whose son was fatally stabbed; Harlem bodega clerk Jose Alba, who was once charged with murder over the death of someone who attacked him at work; and Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims Rights NY to all testify against Bragg's pro-crime policies.
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