Frank Cavalluzzi, 57, who faces up to 25 years in prison for each of the nine counts of attempted murder for which he was convicted, will learn his fate in October.
A man who threatened a group of non-violent Black Lives Matter protesters with a bladed glove before driving his car into them has been found guilty of attempted murder.
Frank Cavalluzzi, 57, was found guilty after a two-week jury trial and now faces up to 25 years in prison for each of nine counts of murder, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. Accordingly The New York TimesCavalluzzi will learn his fate in October.
“A dangerous man is going to prison,” Katz said. “It's a good day for New York and the First Amendment.”
In late May 2020, protests against systemic racism and police brutality erupted in New York and other American cities after Minneapolis police were attacked killing of George Floyda black.
According to court records, on June 2, 2020, a week after Floyd's killing, Cavalluzzi saw protesters at an intersection holding placards in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as he drove his SUV through Queens' Whitestone neighborhood.
Cavalluzzi reportedly parked his car across the street and began shouting profanities and racial slurs at protesters. His remarks included, according to court documents, “You're in the wrong neighborhood.”
Prosecutors said he did a U-turn and got out of his SUV while wearing a leather glove with four serrated blades on his right arm, calling it a device that looked like it belonged in a horror movie. They accused Cavalluzzi of brandishing the bladed gauntlet as he pursued some of the protesters.
“I'm going to kill you,” he yelled before returning to his car. At this point, Cavalluzzi steered onto the sidewalk and headed straight for the protesters, who fled to avoid an attack.
It was an “extremely frightening” incident, recalled Lorraine McShea, 22, one of the people Cavalluzzi attacked. She and her brother Donald, 19, said they were happy with the verdict.
McShea, who attended the protests with her brother and sister, acknowledged that some Queens locals resisted the protesters. Nevertheless, she was surprised that the confrontation with Cavalluzzi had become so violent.
She recalled the worst part was not knowing if her siblings were “dead or alive” a split second before she sprinted out of Cavalluzzi's oncoming vehicle.
It was Donald McShea's first protest and he described being “shocked” by how it turned out.
The largely peaceful protests lasted for weeks and the number of motorists increased with them plowing into protesters elevated.
Cavalluzzi's attorney, Michael D. Horn, attributed Cavalluzzi's actions to this insanity and his client's discomfort with the state of New York City.
“The world will look at this case as something that is about politics,” Horn said, The Times reported. “But I see it as a single man with mental health issues who is struggling to understand the developing city he lives in.”
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