The Manhattan District Attorney’s office quietly dismissed their case against a woman who violently clocked a pro-life activist in the face — and a conservative law firm now plans to file a civil suit against the assailant.
The DA’s office on Friday confirmed to The Post that in July it dropped the second-degree assault charge against 30-year-old Brianna J. Rivers, blaming an “unacceptable error” of missing a deadline to hand over evidence in the case to the defense team.
The bungled case is now being reviewed by the Chicago-based firm Thomas More Society, which plans to sue Rivers on behalf of activist Savannah Craven Antao — the woman Rivers viciously sucker-punched during the on-camera street interview in Harlem in April.
“People need to learn accountability for what is happening in this country over the last year, which is this wave of violence by left-wing activists who think that the appropriate response to an opinion they don’t like is either punching, kicking, assaulting or shooting somebody,” Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel with the Thomas More Society, told The Post Friday.
“This lawsuit is about telling people that there is accountability if you viciously assault somebody because you don’t like what she says. You’re going to suffer the consequences, if not criminally, then civilly.”
Ferrara said the DA’s office failed to update Craven Antao about the case when the charges were dropped and has since ignored multiple calls and emails from his law firm.
Craven Antao said she didn’t know the case had been dismissed until she saw her assailant flaunting the news on Instagram.
“I’m feeling disgusted because this is just the careless actions of Alvin Bragg’s DA’s office that’s infamous for this sort of behavior,” the 23-year-old reporter for advocacy group Live Action said in a phone interview.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the office is “taking immediate internal steps in light” of the botched case.
“Every victim deserves their day in court, and our office has reached out to apologize to Ms. Craven Antao for the unacceptable error of missing the discovery deadline,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The missed discovery deadline occurred after the case was transferred to a different prosecutor, sources said.
The “unprovoked” attack left Craven Antao with a black eye, two stitches under her eyebrow, severe pain in her nose, and lasting emotional trauma – totalling more than $3,000 in medical bills.
“I was using my First Amendment right to free speech to speak about what I believe in, and on top of that, I wasn’t even saying anything that was egregious,” Craven Antao stressed, adding that Rivers had approached her before agreeing to be interviewed about Planned Parenthood and abortion.
“I want her to understand that this is not something that she can continue to do the next time she runs into somebody she disagrees with.”
During the filmed interview, tensions flared when the conservative influencer pressed Rivers about her views on the controversial topics.
The interview gradually grew sour as Craven Antao routinely interrupted Rivers, claimed women who have undergone abortions were “killing babies” and even laughed at her interview subject, the video showed.
Things took a turn when Craven Antao asked whether foster kids should be killed because “they’re not wanted,” and Rivers responded, “Why not?”
“Who’s going to take care of them? I need to know the percentage of people who take children from foster care and abuse them and molest them, who make them personal slaves. I need specifics before you come to talk to me about pro-life,” the assailant said.
The pair went back and forth for another minute before the video clipped. Craven Antao then is heard repeating the foster care question she had posed to Rivers.
“I’m not the one who admitted they would be OK with killing babies in foster care and killing children that have been abused.”
“That’s not the point. What I’m saying is …” Rivers said before unleashing a flurry of punches to Craven Antao’s face, then storming off while flipping both middle fingers and telling the pro-lifer’s husband to “S–k my d–k.”
Rivers, of the Bronx, later apologized on social media for socking her interviewer in the face – but claimed her “antagonistic” victim goaded her into violence.
The violent brute has since posted a string of videos online gloating about the brawling assault, telling critics to back off now that the case has been dismissed.
Ferrara said the outcome might have been different if Rivers had offered a sincere apology.
“It might be a different story if she had some repentance or truly apologized,” Ferrara said, noting the lawsuit will be filed in the coming weeks.
“This is a case of someone who thinks, in this climate, this assassination culture, that she’s totally justified. It’s a very dramatic illustration of the mentality that we’re dealing with.”
Rivers did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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