Pro-life activist to file civil lawsuit after Democrat DA missed deadline to press charges on assault caught on video

The pro-life activist who was violently attacked while arguing with a woman about abortion says she will file a civil lawsuit after a liberal district attorney accidentally forgot to file charges before a deadline.

Savannah Craven Antao was filming interviews with random people in April for the Live Action pro-life group when a woman punched her in the face without warning. The exchange was caught on video by Antao's husband and published online, as previously reported by Blaze News.

'Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue.'

"The woman became aggressive and violent upon learning Savannah's pro-life stance," Antao's husband said. "I intervened to protect my wife, and we immediately called 911. The police arrived, and we provided them with the assailant's photo and description. We hope justice will be served soon."

The suspect was arrested and identified as Brianna Rivers, but the charges against her were dropped when Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed that his office had accidentally missed a filing deadline.

Antao said she wasn't even contacted about the development and learned about it from Rivers' social media.

Bragg's office released a statement of apology.

"Every victim deserves their day in court, and our office has reached out to apologize to Ms. Craven for the unacceptable error of missing the discovery deadline. We are taking immediate internal steps in light of this case," the statement reads.

Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, is representing Antao and excoriated Bragg's actions.

"District Attorney Bragg's shocking refusal to uphold justice only works to undermine confidence in the system, especially when our political climate has become as fraught as it is now," Ferrara explained. "Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue."

RELATED: Woman who punched pro-life activist during street interview claims she was antagonized

Antao says she will file a civil lawsuit against Rivers. The assault led to Antao needing stitches and racking up $3,000 in medical bills.

"It just goes to show, right now in our country, we are experiencing leftist violence, political violence, at an all-time high. And it has to be shown," Antao said. "The left always loves to say it's the conservatives that are all violent, and they're hurting people because they have different beliefs — but I am proving that it's the complete opposite."

Rivers claimed that she was antagonized by Antao and points to the edits in the video released as evidence for her claim.

"She needs to release the unedited footage with her relentless antagonization on a subject that is very touchy," she wrote. "I will not allow my image to be defamed by this woman's actions. Anyone who knows me knows how respectful I am, I don't even litter, there's no way you believe I'm punching people for disagreeing with my POV."

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