Liu Zhen
Introduction
Liu Zhen, 73, an aide and campaign volunteer for Brooklyn Republican state Sen. Steve Chan, was arrested and charged with assault in the third degree after allegedly smacking a volunteer for Chan’s Democratic opponent, Larry He, in the face at dueling campaign tables along 86th Street in Bensonhurst on Tuesday, October 27, sources told The Post . The rival campaigner fell over in the alleged attack, per sources, and Zhen was given a desk appearance ticket and released . Chan suspended her from his campaign the same week — “I suspended her for the time being” — while disputing the assault allegation itself as a staged fall .
Background Information
The two campaigns had set up tables roughly 50 feet apart along the busy Bensonhurst commercial strip, across from the site of a planned homeless shelter where protests have raged in recent months — the same flashpoint where City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, a Democrat backing He, allegedly bit an NYPD detective during an out-of-control protest in a prior incident; those charges were dropped after she completed a restorative justice program . Chan, a retired police sergeant seeking re-election to a second term, said it was wrong for his campaign’s volunteer to walk over to the rival table in the first place .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged; suspended from the campaign; allegation disputed. Zhen was charged with third-degree assault and released on a desk appearance ticket, and Sen. Chan suspended her from his campaign. Chan contends the assault allegation is false and the fall was staged; the He campaign declined to comment. There is no conviction, and the case is at its earliest stage.
Per the account sources gave The Post, the clash unfolded when Zhen walked over to He’s campaign table and allegedly attacked one of his campaigners, striking her in the face hard enough that she fell over . A video of the encounter shows a woman who appeared to be Zhen reaching over the rival table to swipe at one of He’s volunteers, and later shows Chan talking to a police officer by a squad car; Chan said he accompanied Zhen to the police car after her arrest . “It was a setup. [Zhen] didn’t push hard enough for someone to fall. The fall was staged. She didn’t hurt anyone,” the senator said, claiming the accusation of an assault was false .
Public Reaction and Consequences
Chan’s response combined a rebuke of his own aide with a defense of her against the charge: “She definitely shouldn’t have done that,” he said, before adding the suspension and his staged-fall claim . The He campaign declined to comment on the incident and the arrest . No court filing, victim statement, or further campaign statement about Zhen appears in the coverage to date .
Current Status
Zhen has been released pending a desk appearance in criminal court after her third-degree assault charge, with no arraignment outcome or next court date stated in the coverage . Her suspension from Chan’s campaign stands as of October 28, and the charge is unadjudicated — she has been charged, not convicted, and the senator’s staged-fall claim remains his own untested assertion rather than a judicial finding . The incident landed days before the November election, with both campaigns still working the same corridor of tables .
Impact on Their Career/Life
A 73-year-old volunteer on a state senate campaign now carries an assault charge and a public suspension from the candidate she worked for, days out from the election she was out working . The episode also hands Chan’s opponent a story about discipline inside the incumbent’s operation, even as Chan frames the same event as a staged provocation by the other side . Any court appearance will land after voters have already cast their ballots along the strip where the two tables still stand .