Watch Flat Earther Confront Lee Zeldin Less Than 24 Hours After Attempted Stabbing

The Republican congressman and New York gubernatorial candidate was attacked during a campaign stop in the town of Perinton on Thursday by a vet wielding a pointy brass knuckles-style cat keychain who hopped on stage and shouted “You’re done!” before being subdued. The suspect was charged with attempted assault and released the next day.

A self-described flat earther confronted Lee Zeldin on Friday during a campaign stop in Watertown, New York, recording himself asking the politician whether he believes in the archaic view that Earth is a flat disk, rather than a sphere.

“We’re actually being lied to. NASA gives us CGI animation. Have you heard about Flat Earth? Have you heard about the Earth being flat and motionless?” the man asked.

“I wanna say yes, unless you’re getting at something different than what I’m thinking,” a visibly confused Zeldin, who was standing alongside his running mate Alison Esposito and former primary rival Andrew Giuliani, responded.

“So I’m actually a veteran of the United States Navy. I was in Electronic Attack Squadron, VAQ-139. I worked on aircraft. It is my testimony that the Earth is truly flat and motionless. We’re being lied to. NASA uses CGI animation. Are you aware of this? So the blue marble that everybody thinks is Earth, that was made on a computer,” the man continued.

“Yeah, so, personally I strongly disagree. I believe that the Earth is round and I traveled the Earth. I’ve seen it from the sky. As you’re traveling on a flight abroad, the Earth is clearly round. I mean that’s 100 percent indisputable,” Zeldin, who is an Army veteran, responded.

The man encouraged Zeldin to “research it,” and expressed appreciation to the politician for hearing him out.

“Thank you for your service,” Zeldin said.

“I do appreciate it, thank you,” the man said. At the end of the event, the man approached the congressman and handed him his business card and repeated his call to “research” Flat Earth. “It’s the newest hottest thing. It’s the truth. It will uncover all the conspiracies alright? It really will,” he insisted.

The encounter followed a close call between Zeldin and another veteran on Thursday. 43-year-old Fairport, New York resident David Jakubonis was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and released without bail on Friday after being arraigned on one count of attempted assault in the second degree. The man attempted to attack the gubernatorial candidate with a plastic cat keychain meant for use for self-defense before being subdued.

Zeldin campaign communications director Katie Vincentz retweeted video of the flat earther confronting he boss, quipping that “this is the longest day of my life.”

Zeldin, a member of the US House of Representatives, will face off against incumbent New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the November election. Hochul, a Democrat, took over in August 2021 after Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace over allegations of sexual misconduct.