Setauket Patriots' Leader Charged In Domestic Incident: Police

SETAUKET, NY — The leader of the pro-Trump conservative group the Setauket Patriots' has been charged with criminal mischief in an alleged domestic incident, Suffolk police said.

James Robitsek, 53, of Setauket was arrested in Selden on Jan. 21 and was charged with criminal mischief with the intent to damage property, a misdemeanor, police said, but declined to release any further information. The charge stems from an incident that took place on Jan. 18 just after 9 p.m., according to online court records.

He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on Thursday, court records show. His attorney, Vincent Grande III of Copiague, told Newsday that he is looking forward "to his day in court where he can be vindicated."

Robitsek, a former New York Police Department police officer, is accused of holding the 2020 parade without a permit from the Village of Port Jefferson violating state guidelines on gatherings at the time, the outlet reported.

Village officials have previously said that the parade had people on sidewalks and it stopped traffic, according to the outlet. He is due back in court on March 4, according to Newsday.

The outlet reported that both records and news articles show Robitsek has two prior convictions, including one that stems from an on-duty incident in Brooklyn. He was convicted after a non-jury trial on Sept. 20, 2000 of official misconduct for offering to help a prostitution suspect in exchange for a date, according to court records Newsday reviewed.

Robitsek, who left the NYPD around the time of his conviction, pleaded guilty to petit larceny on Jan. 19, 2007, in State Supreme Court in Riverhead, the outlet reported.

To read more in Newsday, click here.