(LifeSiteNews) —  The Thomas More Society urged far-left New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a letter last week to refile felony charges against Brianna Rivers, a pro-abortion woman who brutally assaulted Live Action reporter Savannah Craven Antao on camera earlier this year after his office had downgraded the charges to a misdemeanor and missed a key filing deadline leading to the case’s dismissal.

In an October 1 letter, the religious liberty legal group encouraged Bragg’s office to refile the original felony second-degree assault charges against Rivers, which would give them until at least October 10, six months after the defendant’s first court appearance, to refile the charges, as well as file new hate crime charges because of the anti-Christian remarks Rivers directed at Craven Antao before the assault. After the DA’s office quietly downgraded the felony charges to misdemeanors, they failed to file a certificate of readiness within the 90-day deadline from the defendant’s first court appearance, as required for misdemeanors, that resulted in the case against Rivers being dismissed.

“Your office allowed this case, inexplicably downgraded from a felony assault to a misdemeanor, to be dismissed for failure to meet the applicable 90-day speedy trial deadline for misdemeanors. Your office has since issued a public apology to Ms. Craven Antao for this alleged mistake,” the Thomas More Society wrote in the letter.

“Our research indicates, however, that ‘a speedy trial dismissal of a misdemeanor prosecution would not bar the subsequent prosecution of felony charges arising out of the same criminal transaction,” they added.

The legal group continued:

The speedy trial deadline for felonies is six months from the defendant’s first appearance, which was on April 10, 2025… Thus, your office would appear to have at least until October 10, 2025 to bring a charge of second degree felony assault under Penal Law § 120.05. Further, your office should also bring a pendent hate crime charge under Penal Law 485.05, given that video evidence reveals that the defendant made disparaging remarks about Ms. Craven Antao’s Christian beliefs and practices before brutally assaulting her.

When she was interviewing people on a New York sidewalk, @SavannahCraven5 was violently attacked.

She was left with stitches, $3,000 in medical bills, and her assailant mocking her online.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office made it worse by downgrading the charge, missing a key… pic.twitter.com/KaudHaC3YB

— Thomas More Society (@ThomasMoreSoc) October 7, 2025

As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, Craven Antao was viciously assaulted while conducting a “woman on the street” interview for Live Action with the pro-abortion Rivers.

“You don’t understand the magnitude of having a child,” Rivers told Antao in video footage published by Live Action.

“I’m not the one who admitted they would be okay with killing babies in foster care and killing children that had been abused,” Craven Antao responded.

READ: Pro-abortion woman assaults pro-life journalist during street interview in New York

“That’s not my point,” the woman replied before lunging at Craven Antao and punching her repeatedly in the face, knocking her to the ground.

The woman advanced on Craven Antao, apparently for a second attack, but was blocked by Antao’s husband, Henry Antao, who was working as the cameraman.

🚨 SHOCKING ATTACK: Conservative YouTuber Brutally Beaten in NYC for Interviewing About Abortion@SavannahCraven5 was left bloodied and assaulted simply for asking questions. This is the Left’s idea of “tolerance”? pic.twitter.com/t9fxloBi1K

— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) April 4, 2025

Craven Antao was taken to the hospital and was released later that night. After her release, Antao revealed that she had to get two stitches on her eyebrow and had a cut between her eyebrows where the attacker’s ring cut her.

“(Rivers) was so violent. I literally feel like if it wasn’t for my brave husband, I would be dead,” she told supporters.

“The pro-abortion side is violent. They don’t care about life in general; it’s not only about not caring about babies; they don’t care about human life,” she declared. “They actually hate life.”

Shortly after the case against Rivers was dismissed, the Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit against Bragg’s office.

“We will seek justice for Savannah, including punitive damages, as a lesson to those who think they can respond to pro-life speech with violence,” Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel, said in a news release.

READ: Soros-backed prosecutor drops charges against abortion supporter who attacked pro-lifer

The Thomas More Society has also launched an urgent petition demanding that Bragg refile the charges.

Craven Antao also criticized Bragg for letting political violence go unpunished under his watch, saying it “should never be tolerated or given a free pass.”

“When those in power refuse to hold accountable those who respond to free speech with violence, it threatens the very fabric of our civil society,” she said.

Bragg, one of many leftist DAs who has received financial support from organizations backed by George Soros while seemingly looking the other way when it came to assaulting a pro-lifer who was practicing her First Amendment right, has used his office to go after other cases that fit more with a leftist political agenda.

In one instance, the New York DA tried, and failed, to prosecute Marine veteran Daniel Penny, who intervened to stop a violent homeless man named Jordan Neely who was threatening subway passengers. Neely lost consciousness while Penny was restraining him but was reportedly still alive with a faint pulse when police arrived. Neely was declared dead on arrival at a hospital.

READ: Ron Desantis slams Alvin Bragg as Daniel Penny declared not guilty

To add your name to the Thomas More Society’s petition, click HERE.

Contact information for respectful communication: 

New York County DA Alvin Bragg’s Office:

Phone: 212-335-9000