The Big Apple Deserves Better Than Alvin Bragg’s Incompetence

Frank Sinatra once said of New York City, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”

But the Big Apple is increasingly plagued with politicians who want to make it impossible for Americans to make it there—or anywhere.

Just look at leading Democratic NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who supports Marxist policies and spouts Marxist aphorisms.  (For example, he posted on May 27, 2020, “Each according to their need, each according to their ability”).

And then there’s Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Bragg won election and entered office as part of the George Soros-supported rogue prosecutor movement.  On his first day in office, he issued a “Day One Memo” with policy proposals so radical he had to quickly revise and backpedal, claiming that those who read it didn’t understand its content due to poor word choices.

Obviously, that’s complete nonsense. The memo’s radical soft-on-crime policies were, sadly, crystal clear.

But Bragg’s office has also recently demonstrated another hallmark of the rogue prosecutor movement: incompetence.  Even when rogue prosecutors want to secure convictions—a rarity—they can’t do it. 

In what should have been a cut-and-dry case, Alvin Bragg’s office dropped the ball and forced a judge to dismiss its case against Brianna J. Rivers.

Rivers brazenly attacked pro-life activist Savannah Craven Antao, who had the audacity to approach Rivers on the street and simply ask her several questions. Antao caught the entire exchange on camera. 

But because Bragg’s office missed discovery deadlines in the case—meaning they didn’t turn over evidence to which the defendant was entitled—a judge dismissed the case. Now, Rivers will go unpunished for her brazen act of violence—a fact which she celebrates. 

Antao says she has “dozens of screenshots of [Rivers] liking comments saying things like, ‘You ain’t hit that girl hard enough,’ ‘You did the community a service! She f—ed around and found out!’ ‘She deserved it 1000% never doubt yourself queen!!!’”

Antao says that Rivers even made a rap song blaming Antao for the assault. 

To be fair, Rivers did issue what may be one of the worst non-apology apologies of all time saying that “hands being put on someone is never the answer, but throwing rocks and hiding hands is worse”—essentially blaming Antao for the assault.

Antao was—rightly—troubled by the fact that she found out about the case’s dismissal not from Bragg’s office, but from Rivers celebrating on Instagram.

Bragg’s office readily admits that mistakes were made.

One of the saddest parts of this entire ordeal is that Alvin Bragg’s office moved mountains to prosecute Donald Trump under a novel legal theory that has been widely criticized. And yet, it couldn’t give minimal attention to serious cases like this one. 

Of course, some speculate that Bragg’s incompetence in this case might have been intentional.  The Thomas More Society, which plans to file a civil lawsuit against Rivers on Antao’s behalf, says that “Bragg’s office first downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor before ultimately dismissing the charge altogether.” 

One NYPD veteran echoed similar sentiments, saying, “She’s a pro-lifer.  It wasn’t a case that Bragg and them really gave two [use your imagination] about.  Something serious like this and all of a sudden you forget the paperwork?”

Of course, sheer incompetence isn’t out of the question.

Kim Gardner, the now-former rogue district attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, once had a murder case dismissed because her office didn’t realize the prosecutor assigned to the case was out on maternity leave.

But regardless of the reason, this result—a lack of accountability for a serious crime—makes those who live in, work in, or visit New York City less safe.

New Yorkers deserve better than Alvin Bragg’s incompetence and dangerous soft-on-crime policies if they want to have a shot at making it there or anywhere else.

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