Defiant bar owner hits deputy with car after illegal reopening, New York cops say

A Staten Island, New York, bar owner who refuses to comply with COVID-19 shutdown orders has been arrested after striking a deputy with his car in another confrontation early Sunday, authorities say.

Danny Presti, 34, fled from Mac’s Public House after sheriff’s investigators discovered patrons secretly entering the bar from a closed commercial space next door, WNBC reported.

Shortly after midnight, Presti tried to escape officers attempting to arrest him, WCBS reported. He hit a deputy and drove 100 yards with the deputy clinging to his hood, Sheriff Joseph Fucito said.

Presti eventually stopped and was arrested, according to the station. The deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment.

“We will not back down!” read a now-deleted post on the bar’s Facebook page following the incident. “You have not scared us!! The world is watching and it’s time for everyone to wake up!”

Presti, who has declared his bar an “autonomous zone” not subject to state or local COVID-19 guidelines, was previously arrested Tuesday for opening despite a shutdown order, the New York Post reported.

Before his latest arrest, Presti told reporters outside Mac’s Public House that owners of other businesses hit by the shutdown are “trying to figure out how they’re coming up with rent this month and how to get their kids Christmas gifts,” WNBC reported.

The bar’s liquor license also has been revoked, the New York Post reported.

More than 66 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 1.5 million deaths as of Dec. 6, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 14 million confirmed cases with more than 281,000 deaths.

This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Defiant bar owner hits deputy with car after illegal reopening, New York cops say."