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Former President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani claimed he'd been "assaulted" at a grocery store but his story did not hold up once the store released security footage of the encounter.
A worker at a ShopRite store on Staten Island, New York was arrested after slapping Giuliani on the back and calling him a “scumbag” during a campaign event for his son Andrew, who launched a gubernatorial bid but has failed to secure the support of New York's Republican leadership.
The incident was initially reported as an assault but the security footage shows while Giuliani appeared surprised by the slap on the back, it did not leave him physically reeling as had been suggested by the former mayor.
You can watch the footage for yourself below.
\u201cVideo of the \u201cassault\u201d on Rudy at ShopRite, where Rudy had the person arrested, and said if he wasn\u2019t in better shape he would\u2019ve fallen, cracked his skull, and died.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1656286026
Afterward, Giuliani told The Curtis Silwa Show, a program hosted by Republican activist Curtis Silwa, who was the Republican nominee for the 2021 New York City mayoral election, that he had felt "a shot on my back, like somebody shot me."
He added that he is grateful to be in "pretty good shape because if I wasn’t I’d’ve hit the ground and probably cracked my skull.” He went further during an interview with The New York Times, saying that he had red marks on his back after the incident and that he felt fortunate that he was still capable of walking.
The man in question, a 39-year-old, has been charged with second-degree assault, a charge that carries a sentence of at least two years in federal prison.
But the footage itself immediately cast doubt on Giuliani's version of events, and he was immediately criticized for lying and exaggerating about the severity of the encounter.
\u201cMy mother slapped me harder with her eyes. #Giuliani\u201d— goc-\ud83d\ude37 (@goc-\ud83d\ude37) 1656299827
\u201cI had to watch twice. I missed the assault the first time.\u201d— Beau of The Fifth Column (@Beau of The Fifth Column) 1656297678
\u201cTapping someone on the back to get his attention is assault now\u2014IF the person being tapped is a seditious criminal, I guess?\u201d— Greg Olear \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Greg Olear \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1656293344
\u201cIs it me or does the Assault of Rudy Giuliani look more like the burping of Rudy Giuliani?\u201d— Mr. Newberger (@Mr. Newberger) 1656294045
\u201cSeditionist who called for \u201ctrial by combat\u201d on January 6 can\u2019t handle skinny grocery store clerk tapping him on the back.\u201d— Greg Olear \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Greg Olear \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1656294508
\u201cIn Rudy\u2019s defense, no one had ever patted him on the back before.\u201d— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1656295570
\u201cYour lies are hugely offensive to those of us who are actually survivors of violent abuse\n\nYou just damaged a man\u2019s life for gently patting you on the back, @RudyGiuliani\n\nWhat a POS\u201d— Lindy Li (@Lindy Li) 1656296436
\u201cRudy Giuliani thinks a pat on the back is a violent assault? Im assuming January 6th must be nuclear war then? #January6thHearings\u201d— Victor Ruiz \u262e-The Voice Of Rican- (@Victor Ruiz \u262e-The Voice Of Rican-) 1656297370
\u201cLOL! @RudyGiuliani you are such a weak, pathetic, loser. Playing the victim won\u2019t keep you out of prison.\u201d— Lucifer B. Satan \ud83d\udd25 (@Lucifer B. Satan \ud83d\udd25) 1656363668
ShopRite said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and that the company had “zero tolerance for aggression toward anyone.”
Giuliani suggested in his interview to The New York Times that the worker had told him that he is "going to kill women," a statement he says might have been a response to the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.