GOP pol demands probe over mask arrest of NYC comptroller candidate John Tabacco

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New York State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-SI) is calling for an investigation into the arrest of Staten Island activist John Tabacco, who was charged with criminal trespass after refusing to wear a face mask during a ballot-counting session at the Board of Elections’ borough headquarters.

“When a poll watcher that is lawfully present is removed and arrested for having broken no laws, our democracy is under attack,” Lanza said Saturday.

Tabacco — who is on the November ballot as an independent candidate for comptroller — said he complied with a health screening as he arrived Thursday to serve as a ballot-counting monitor for Vito Fossella, the former congressman running for borough president.

“Question 7 said, are you vaccinated? I said yes,” Tabacco told The Post. “The form said that if you are vaccinated, wearing a mask is optional.”

But when the maskless Tabacco attempted to enter the counting room, he says he was “physically bullied” by elections officials who pushed him out the door — and then called the cops.

“This is hiding-in-plain sight political corruption,” Tabacco said. “We don’t like you? We’re having you arrested.”

The candidate was handcuffed and left to stew in a holding cell at the 120th Precinct for two hours — a “completely unacceptable and outrageous” result, Lanza said.

“We are a country of laws, and you don’t arrest people unless they are committing a crime,” Lanza, a former prosecutor, said.

“For months we watched as our city was nearly burned to the ground by looters and rioters, and those people weren’t arrested,” Lanza said. “But a law-abiding citizen was arrested for purely political motivations.”

Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Diaz told the Staten Island Advance that Tabacco became disruptive over the mask policy.

Tabacco — known for rallying locals to defend the Staten Island bar that declared itself an “autonomous zone” to open during the pandemic — is scheduled for a court hearing on Aug. 4.

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