Illegal alien accused of threatening to slit throat of Bondi-appointed US attorney

A U.S. attorney in New York learned firsthand the danger that criminal illegal aliens pose to the community after he was chased and threatened with a knife in downtown Albany earlier this week.

Just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, John Sarcone, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, had just left his office and was strolling by a Hilton Hotel, enjoying a cigar, when he suddenly spotted a man behaving suspiciously.

"I got my eye on him, then I turn back and I’m in front of the Hilton, and I’m just standing there, and I’m looking at him ... and he then starts yelling at me in his language that I don’t understand," Sarcone later said, according to the Times-Union.

The man then reportedly approached Sarcone, pulled a knife, and lunged in his direction.

'We take these things seriously — whether you’re the US attorney for the Northern District or your name’s John Smith and you live on Morton Avenue.'

Sarcone stepped into the hotel lobby for safety and called Sheriff Craig Apple of Albany County but then went back outdoors to keep an eye on the man. The situation then apparently escalated.

"I didn’t want him to get away, and I yelled out at him," Sarcone recalled. "He turns around, and he starts yelling again ... and then he pulls the knife out, and then there’s this (gesture) across his throat thing, like he’s going to slit my throat, and then comes at me again, and I ran back towards the hotel, and then he stopped and then turned around."

Police quickly arrived on the scene and apprehended the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Saul Morales-Garcia. Sheriff Apple confirmed that Morales-Garcia, a Salvadoran national, is in the U.S. illegally, WNYT reported.

Sarcone was not injured in the incident, but at a hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors demonstrated that they are not playing games. Morales-Garcia has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and second-degree menacing. The defendant has another court appearance scheduled for next week.

"It’s important that everybody understands that we take these things seriously – whether you’re the U.S. attorney for the Northern District or your name’s John Smith and you live on Morton Avenue," District Attorney Lee Kindlon said outside the courthouse.

Morales-Garcia reportedly told investigators he did not know Sarcone was a federal official. Public defender Vincenzo Sofia argued in court that the evidence did not warrant an attempted murder charge and requested release under probationary supervision, but the judge ordered the defendant held without bail.

RELATED: Judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE says she didn't think 'avoid ICE' meant anything illegal

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The defendant has a lengthy rap sheet both in America and abroad. Morales-Garcia has a felony conviction in El Salvador and has been deported from the U.S. on at least one occasion, in 2010. When he re-entered the U.S. illegally again is unclear.

According to multiple reports, he also has a "criminal record" in at least three states and an active warrant for his arrest.

In April 2022, Morales-Garcia was convicted of a DUI and driving without a license in Monroe County, Georgia. A month later, he apparently failed to appear in court, prompting a bench warrant, but the bench warrant is tied to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. Whether the two Georgia incidents are related is unclear, the Times-Union reported.

'Kathy Hochul puts illegals first and New Yorkers last.'

In December 2023, Morales-Garcia was arrested by federal Park Police officers in Virginia and charged with disorderly conduct, engaging in a physically threatening act likely to inflict injury, possessing an open container of alcohol, and being intoxicated in public. Five months later, he was charged with retail theft in a city just outside Philadelphia.

The Times-Union reported that the outcomes of those cases are currently unknown.

ICE agents were reportedly at the courthouse on Wednesday, when Morales-Garcia and at least one other illegal alien were scheduled to appear. It is unclear whether the agents interacted with Morales-Garcia.

The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

RELATED: Elise Stefanik agrees to withdraw her nomination to maintain GOP's 'razor-thin' majority in House

Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images

At least one New York federal lawmaker is speaking out about the alarming incident.

"In Kathy Hochul’s New York, nobody is safe, not even President Trump’s U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of NY John A. Sarcone III, who was 'confronted and chased' by an illegal alien armed with a knife in Albany last night, the Times Union reported," Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) posted to X on Wednesday.

"Three separate times, Hochul signed executive orders to protect violent illegal aliens from deportation. Kathy Hochul puts illegals first and New Yorkers last. We desperately need a governor who puts New Yorkers first and restores law and order to our streets."

In response to a request for comment, Hochul sent Blaze News what appears to be a generic email, promising "to rebuild our communities and continue to move our great state forward."

"I promise to do everything I can, every single day, to create a stronger, safer future for you, our families, and our communities and to make government a force for good once again."

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to the U.S. attorney position back in March. Sarcone previously served on President Donald Trump's campaign legal team in 2016.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!