Gerard Kassar, chair of the New York state Conservative Party, has sued Anthony Constantino, the erstwhile NY-21 special election candidate vying for the GOP party line, over claims that Kassar threatened to kill the candidate and then connecting him to an apparent attempt on a top aide’s life.

In mid-June, Constantino hosted a festival at his StickerMule company headquarters in Amsterdam. To a crowd of locals, a livestream and a small troupe of reporters and right-wing content creators, Constantino gave an hour-long speech denouncing the political establishment and accusing Kassar of threatening to kill him, playing an edited version of a call between himself and Kassar.

“Gerard Kassar, NYS Conservative Party chairman, called me to say ‘we intend to kill you,'” Constantino said at the time. “Was it hyperbole? I don’t know. My aide’s brake lines were subsequently cut.”

In mid-July, Kassar filed suit against Constantino in Kings County state Supreme Court, seeking in excess of $1 million in damages for four specific defamatory instances.

Pointing to posts Constantino made on social media and a video advertisement Constantino produced and published online, Kassar and his lawyers argue that Constantino has materially attempted to connect Kassar with an alleged attempt to kill his press aide, Paul Antonelli, when no police investigation is underway or was ever initiated to investigate an alleged attempt on his life.

Kassar also argues that Constantino is misrepresenting a conversation he recorded for his own benefit, arguing that Kassar’s use of the term “kill” in a conversation about political posturing was actually a threat to end his life.

In a statement shared with the Watertown Daily Times, Constantino didn’t relent on his claims and said the lawsuit was a “shameful” move from Kassar.

“Chairman Kassar did, in fact, threaten me when I entered the special election to succeed Congresswoman Stefanik,” Constantino said. “Instead of being intimidated by Kassar’s threat, I decided to expose his aggression toward me, which is my protected constitutional right and something I deemed necessary to increase the safety of myself and those close to me who felt threatened by Kassar’s words. Any harm to Chairman Kassar’s reputation is his own doing. I suspect most Conservative voters disapprove of Chairman Kassar’s threats and also disapprove of his ridiculous lawsuit against me, which is an insult to our great First Amendment.”

Constantino pledged to use all legal actions available to “ensure Chairman Kassar is reprimanded by our legal system for his dishonorable behavior,” and called on Kassar to step down.