A New York bar owner who repeatedly disobeyed state coronavirus mandates was arrested Sunday after allegedly driving into a group of sheriff's deputies and failing to stop even after he hit one of the deputies, NBC New York reported. Danny Presti, 34, was accused of defying COVID-19 restrictions by keeping his bar Mac's Public House open past 10 p.m. Deputies observed people walking into the bar from a vacated commercial space next door, and when deputies identified themselves to Presti, he ran to his car, later driving into a deputy and dragging him about 100 yards, authorities told CBS News. It's unclear how deputies were able to stop Presti, but he was eventually arrested. Charges are pending, NBC reported.
New York lawyer Rebecca Kavanagh said in a Twitter thread Sunday that if a Black person had deliberately driven into a group of sheriff’s deputies he’d be charged with attempted murder at best and shot and killed at worst. “In fact in Brooklyn in 2017, a 15-year-old child was charged as an adult with Attempt Murder, after a cop was dragged by a car he was driving, even though the dragging was unintentional,” Kavanagh tweeted.
Presti and his co-owner Keith McAlarney have been defying state mandates for quite some time, racking up fines and cease-and-desist notices while dubbing their bar an "autonomous zone," The New York Times reported. Presti had even been arrested before for defying state orders, which sparked protests from his supporters in Staten Island.
Presti left the bar before his most recent arrest to tell reporters: "There's still sadness inside because we have to get everybody open. I get phone calls from the other business owners and staff of these places and they're still trying to figure out how they're coming up with rent this month and how to get their kids Christmas gifts."
The business said in a statement released Sunday on Facebook that the bar would be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday “with strict safety procedures in place including masks worn while standing.” “Danny was arrested after we closed and was getting in his car! 25 sheriffs in unmarked car swarm him like he is a violent felon who murdered someone! He just finished working an 18 hour day to provide for his family and save our establishment!!!” the bar said in the statement.
Bill Neidhardt, a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio, told CBS News Presti disregarded human life. "In both of these instances, whether it's flouting public health laws or ramming a car into a uniformed deputy, this individual has endangered the lives of others," Neidhardt said.