Savannah Craven Antao, a pro-life activist, has filed a lawsuit against a woman who was caught on camera assaulting her during an interview in New York City.
After the footage went viral on social media, Brianna J. Rivers was arrested and charged. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office dropped the charges.
From The New York Post:
A conservative influencer who was slugged in the face by an unhinged pro-abortion crusader has accused progressive Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of botching the case against her attacker, who won’t face charges after leaving her battered and bloodied.
Savannah Craven Antao, a 23-year-old pro-life activist, was sucker-punched by a woman while she was conducting man-on-the-street interviews in Harlem in April.
Her attacker, Brianna J. Rivers, was arrested and charged with felony assault, but Bragg’s office later downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor — and then flubbed the “onerous” discovery requirements, leading the case to be tossed.
In a new civil case filed Tuesday by Craven Antao against Rivers, the conservative influencer claims the DA used a loophole to assign the case to a student “non-lawyer.”
The suit — which isn’t against Bragg or his office — alleges that the speedy trial dismissal in July was “because the inexperienced nonlawyer assigned to the case under a ‘student practice’ rule allowed the discovery deadline to lapse.”
Bragg had apologized for botching the case in September, blaming a transfer to a new prosecutor.
The suit also accuses prosecutors of refusing to refile charges as a felony and declining to pursue hate crime charges — despite evidence that Rivers’ attack “was committed in the context of her mockery of [Antao’s] Christian beliefs.”
Bragg’s office dropped the case against Rivers after a series of prosecutorial missteps — supposedly. The DA’s office initially charged Rivers with felony assault. However, prosecutors downgraded this charge to a misdemeanor and then failed — or refused — to meet the discovery requirements required by New York law.
This was the result of the case being assigned to a student “non-lawyer” under a student practice rule. This individual failed to meet the requirement before the deadline. The case was later dismissed on the grounds that Rivers was not receiving a speedy trial.
Also, for those who believe Bragg’s story, I have some prime oceanfront property in Idaho to sell you.
Antao’s lawyers accused Rivers of “knowingly, willfully and maliciously continued to mock [Antao] and her views online in order to further inflict emotional distress.”
The alleged assailant even tried to sell t-shirts related to the attack. One featured the word “BAM!” with a fist graphic. Rivers sold these shirts on social media.
Rivers did issue a milquetoast apology for the attack. But she told The Post in September that Antao was “just fishing for more clicks and empathy and targeting me for harassment.”
I don’t believe for a second that Bragg’s office failed to prosecute Rivers because of a series of mistakes. If the political views were reversed, there is no doubt that his office would have assigned the case to the best prosecutors and thrown the book at the assailant.
Remember when Bragg wanted to punish a bodega worker for killing a man in a clear case of self-defense?
But with this lawsuit, perhaps there will be a level of accountability for Rivers. However, the message has been sent either way. If you are of a certain politial persuasion, district attorneys like Bragg won’t bother to defend your rights.
