QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the conviction of Frank Cavalluzzi, 57, for attacking peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators in June 2020. Cavalluzzi, a resident of 150th Street in Flushing, was found guilty of nine counts of attempted murder after first threatening demonstrators with a glove outfitted with serrated blades and then attempting to run them over with his SUV.
Following a two-week trial, Cavalluzzi was convicted on Friday, August 18, on charges including nine counts of attempted murder in the second degree, nine counts of attempted assault in the first degree, seven counts of menacing in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and reckless driving. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michelle A. Johnson has set sentencing for October 13, where Cavalluzzi faces up to 25 years in prison for each count of attempted murder.
According to trial testimony and charges, the incident occurred on June 2, 2020, at approximately 3:45 p.m., at the Cross Island Parkway service road intersection and Clintonville Street in Whitestone. A group of peaceful demonstrators was engaged in hanging signs and posters in support of Black Lives Matter when Cavalluzzi happened upon them.
He abruptly stopped his SUV across the street from the demonstrators, and began shouting profanities and racial slurs, including the warning, “You are in the wrong neighborhood.” Cavalluzzi then made a U-turn, exited his vehicle wearing the bladed glove on his right arm, and chased several demonstrators, screaming at them. He later re-entered his vehicle, threatening to kill the demonstrators, and drove onto the sidewalk at them.
District Attorney Katz praised the conviction, declaring: “A dangerous man is going to jail. It’s a good day for New York and the First Amendment.”