A pro-life advocate who was assaulted on camera has filed a lawsuit against a New York woman who punched her in the face and left her bleeding after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to prosecute the case.
The Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm, announced in a news release that it has filed a civil suit against Brianna Rivers on behalf of Savannah Craven Antao.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for assault and battery, as well as the “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” According to the complaint, Antao has suffered “lasting psychological injury” due to Rivers’ actions, in addition to physical injury.
“I was attacked in broad daylight while standing up for my pro-life beliefs, and the person who did it has been celebrating it online ever since,” Antao said in a statement provided to The Christian Post.
“Alvin Bragg’s office completely failed to protect me and by refusing to prosecute her, they failed every New Yorker who deserves equal justice under the law,” the pro-life advocate said. “I’m grateful Thomas More Society is stepping in to make sure she is held responsible for her actions.”
Police arrested Rivers earlier this year after a video of her striking Antao during a conversation about abortion went viral. On April 3, Antao was filming a “woman on the street” interview in Harlem for the pro-life group Live Action at the time of the assault.
Video footage shows that Rivers approached the pro-life advocate and initiated the conversation, which started off friendly but gradually became heated. At one point, Antao addressed a comment Rivers had made during their conversation, in which she claimed that the New York woman was “OK with killing babies in foster care and killing children that had been abused.”
In response, Rivers “savagely punched” the pro-life advocate in the face twice, according to the civil suit. Rivers struck Antao with her right hand before hitting the advocate again with the cell phone in her left hand, which caused a “severe laceration” over Antao’s left eye.
According to the complaint, the injuries that Antao suffered resulted in $3,000 in medical bills.
“Savannah was violently assaulted for peacefully expressing her pro-life beliefs and then humiliated all over again when the attacker went online to glorify it,” Chris Ferrara, senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, said in a statement provided to CP.
“The DA’s office had every opportunity to pursue justice and due to their incompetency or lack of will, failed to prosecute this vicious assault,” Ferrara added. “Their refusal left us with no choice but to file civil action to hold Rivers accountable.”
While Rivers was initially charged with felony assault, the Manhattan district attorney’s office downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor. A court dismissed the case in July after the district attorney’s office failed to meet a deadline for turning evidence over to the defense team, The New York Post reported at the time.
“Our system cannot function when violent offenders are rewarded with impunity simply because the victim is a Christian or a pro-life advocate,” Ferrara stated. “We intend to prove every allegation in court and obtain full justice for Savannah.”
According to the complaint, Rivers has “knowingly, willfully, and maliciously continued to mock” Antao and her views online “in order to inflict further emotional distress.” On her social media, Rivers shared a photo of a T-shirt with the logo “BAM!” and the image of a fist hitting a face.
Rivers and her cousin reportedly produced the shirt to raise money for her legal fees, according to the suit. The New York woman also attempted to raise money through a GoFundMe campaign, which received over $8,000 in donations before the platform removed the fundraiser.
According to the rules outlined on GoFundMe’s terms of service page, an individual cannot use the platform to raise money for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.”
In an April 11 Facebook post, Rivers blamed Antao and her “Klan” for the fundraiser’s removal from GoFundMe. She also revealed that she lost her job and claimed that Antao’s “trolls have taken this too far.”
On Sept. 17, Rivers declared on TikTok: “It’s been over six months since I punched that loser, pro-life extremist and I’m still living my life but not to the extent I’m used to.”
“This has been so humbling,” she admitted. “I’m regretful and apologetic to her, but also infuriated that I allowed myself to boil over for a professional antagonist.”
Rivers noted that Antao is affiliated with Live Action, accusing the pro-life group of “spread[ing] fake news and hate in an attempt to promote their one-sided viewpoints.”
According to the suit, Rivers’ actions have caused Antao “severe and lasting emotional distress,” adding that the advocate now lives “in constant fear of another attack” when conducting pro-life outreach.
Antao’s legal team claims she has shown signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, which include “vivid flashbacks to the beating” and hearing Rivers’ voice inside her head.
“[Antao’s] PTSD, proximately caused by [Rivers], is all the more severe given [Antao’s] friendship with the late Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated for expressing his own similar views in public,” the complaint alleges.
The pro-life advocate has reportedly received “hundreds of death threats” following the assault and “widespread coverage” of the incident in the media.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
