Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is refusing to prosecute the attacker of a pro-life activist who was caught on video punching the victim in the face during a “woman on the street” interview in Harlem.
New York police arrested 30-year-old Brianna J. Rivers in April after the video of her striking Savannah Craven Antao went viral. Craven Antao was videoing an interview for the pro-life group Live Action at the time of the assault.
Craven Antao said it was “simply irresponsible” for the district attorney to have allowed her assailant to escape criminal consequences, citing the attack’s clear video evidence.
“My attacker, Brianna Rivers, is part of the rising culture of anti-Christian and anti-conservative violence on the left, and she needs to face accountability for her own good and as a lesson to others,” Craven Antao told The Christian Post (CP).
A court dismissed the case in July, however, after the district attorney’s office failed to turn over evidence on time, according to The New York Post.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit law firm Thomas More Society, which is representing Craven Antao, told CP that Bragg’s office never reached out to their office and ignored all phone calls and emails. The spokesperson also highlighted a statement the district attorney’s office provided to The New York Post, confirming that the office committed an “unacceptable error” after the case was transferred to another prosecutor.
The Thomas More Society plans to file a civil suit and seek damages on Craven Antao’s behalf after Bragg’s office failed to prosecute the felony assault charge. According to the Thomas More Society, Bragg’s office downgraded the charge against Rivers to a misdemeanor before dismissing the charges altogether.
Rivers struck Craven Antao several times in the face during the April street interview, according to the Thomas More Society. The punches caused a laceration, forcing the pro-life advocate to visit the emergency room for stitches, resulting in $3,000 in medical bills.
“District Attorney Bragg’s shocking refusal to uphold justice only works to undermine confidence in the system, especially when our political climate has become as fraught as it is now,” Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, said in a statement.
“Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue,” Ferrara continued.
Rivers, the alleged assailant, had raised over $8,000 on GoFundMe to pay for legal fees before the crowdfunding platform took her campaign down for violating its terms of service.
Craven Antao said she is “disgusted by Alvin Bragg’s District Attorney’s office.”
“They clearly see no problem with women being assaulted on the streets for exercising the First Amendment,” Craven Antao told CP. “Without provocation, my assailant savagely punched me in the face twice and then walked away with both middle fingers extended in the air in triumph.”
Craven Antao believes the case was “deliberately sabotaged for political reasons.”
“How many more times do we have to mourn and send out condolences to the families of senseless violence?” Craven Antao asked. “Charlie Kirk was murdered for simply using his voice. No one on either side of the political spectrum should feel scared to peacefully speak their minds.”
The pro-life advocate said she plans to be even more vocal about her views.
“To pro-lifers who feel hesitant to speak their minds, I ask you, if not you, then who? If we all sit back and say someone else will do it, no one will,” Craven Antao continued. “Get involved in your church, speak out online, volunteer at pregnancy centers, be a voice for life! The next generation depends on us.”
