Man Who Threatened Whitestone Protesters Is Arrested: NYPD

WHITESTONE, QUEENS — A man caught on camera threatening to kill a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in Whitestone, then trying to run them over with his SUV, was arrested Thursday and charged with attempted murder, according to police and prosecutors.

Whitestone resident Frank Cavalluzzi was caught on video Tuesday as he drove up to the protest on Clintonville Street by the Cross Island Parkway, threatened to kill the protesters, spat out his car window and told them they "were in the wrong neighborhood," according to video footage shared with Patch by one protester.

He jumped out of his SUV brandishing a Wolverine-like contraption made up of several knives strapped to a glove on his right hand and chased one of the protesters.

He then got back in the car and sped down the sidewalk, nearly running several of the protesters over, according to the Queens district attorney's office and a protester who spoke with Patch.

(Warning: This video contains explicit language.)

right now this man in Whitestone New York was threatening people with a sword/multiple blades and then drove right through them ..... someone find out who he is right now pic.twitter.com/BrHcZGRWMr
— moo (@lambomursy) June 2, 2020

Cavalluzzi, 54, also stands accused of seven counts of menacing, seven counts of weapon possession and six counts of reckless endangerment for the incident, a police spokesperson told Patch.

"Everyone was really, really shook up," Gabe, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said in a phone interview.

Gabe, a Whitestone resident, said it wasn't the man's first time targeting him and the other protesters. The man had walked by on Monday and screamed at them, though at the time they tried to laugh it off.

Gabe said drivers passing by on Monday had also honked at them and gave them the middle finger. At that time, there were only half a dozen protesters on the overpass, he said.

"When there's so little people there, this neighborhood, their true colors really come out," he said.

Cavalluzzi showed up with an attorney at the NYPD's 109th Precinct station in Flushing on Thursday morning and turned himself in, the New York Daily News reported.

(Videos and image courtesy of @notamusedband/Instagram)

This story has been updated with additional information from the Queens District Attorney's Office.