Embattled Nassau Business Owner Arrested For Pulling Knife On Reporter

A Levittown resident and business owner who came under fire for inflammatory comments he made about the funeral of FDNY firefighter William Tolley was arrested by Nassau police Monday evening for threatening a reporter with a knife.

Jeremy Henggeler, 40, was in the garage of his Rope Lane home when he was approached by News 12 reporter Virginia Huie at 6:30 p.m. After hearing him working in his garage, Huie said she asked him for an interview. In a video on News 12, Henggeler is seen pulling a knife and walking toward Huie.

"Get off my property. That's my comment," he said.

Huie and her cameraman called police, who quickly responded and arrested Henggeler.

The trouble for Henggeler, owner of Jay's Sit and Stay pet sitting company, began on April 27, when he publicly complained on Facebook about being stuck in traffic due to Tolley's funeral service, which was held in Bethpage. As part of his business, Henggeler drives to the houses of his clients to take care of their pets while they are away or at work. He told Newsday the traffic caused him to lose business and, as an anarchist, he was even more upset that it was a government event that slowed him down.

Henggeler explained on his podcast that he was an hour and a half late to his appointment, and the dog he was going to take care of had urinated on its owner's carpet — something which, per his contract, Henggeler had to pay to fix.

When he got home, Henggeler took to Facebook.

His post went viral, and he became the target of firefighter groups across the country. His post received thousands of comments, the majority of which were critical of him. His post was also spread by a local firefighter's Facebook group, which encouraged people to boycott his business. As a result of his post, one of his partners, Life's Abundance pet food, severed its ties with Henggeler.

Henggeler is charged with second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Photo: Nassau County Police Department