Queens candidate arrested over deceptive use of AI on campaign trail: sources
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Pernnial candidate Jonathan Rinaldi, who has generated controversy during every campaign he’s run for public office, was arrested in Queens on Wednesday. File photo via Rinaldi/X
By Ryan Schwach and Jacob Kaye
Jonathan Rinaldi, a perennial candidate who repeatedly used artificial intelligence to create deceptive campaign materials during several failed bids for office, was arrested Wednesday morning in Queens, multiple sources told the Eagle.
Rinaldi – who lost the Democratic primary race for Assembly District 28 against incumbent Andrew Hevesi by around 76 percentage points Tuesday night – was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on fraud charges after prosecutors said he used a slew of AI-generated images to trick Queens voters into casting a ballot for him during his 2025 run for the City Council.
Rinaldi was hit with nearly 20 criminal counts and faces two years in prison.
During both his bid for the City Council last year and the State Assembly this year, Rinaldi used artificial intelligence to create misleading social media posts. The posts included fabricated endorsements, news articles, and videos of his opponents.
He was charged on Wednesday only for his use of AI in his campaign against City Councilmember Lynn Schulman last year.
The Eagle was the first to report last year that Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to Rinaldi’s campaign posted made-up headlines boasting non-existent endorsements from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Councilmember Bob Holden and State Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi in his race against Councilmember Lynn Schulman.
Rinaldi used AI to mimic news articles so that they appeared to be written by real outlets, including the Eagle.
A forged New York Post article posted to Jonathan Rinaldi’s social media. Screenshot via Rinaldi
When first confronted about his use of AI, Rinaldi claimed that his account had been hacked. However, the AI-generated images and videos continued to be uploaded to his social media pages in the months that followed. One fake story claimed that Schulman had been behind the alleged hack.
Rinaldi told reporters on Wednesday that while he wouldn’t confirm or deny whether he made the posts himself as the Queens district attorney’s office alleges, the case spoke to a First Amendment issue.
“If this doesn’t scare each and every American citizen or anyone that runs for office moving forward, this is probably the most scariest thing that the ‘Democratic Republic of Queens’ has ever experienced,” he said.
During this year’s campaign, in which Rinaldi switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party to challenge Hevesi, he was accused by his opponent of falsifying records with the Board of Elections. Hevesi claimed in a complaint to the Queens district attorney’s office that Rinaldi attempted to change the incumbent's party affiliation so that Rinaldi could run unopposed on the Democratic Party line.
Rinaldi denied the accusation, but days later posted an AI deepfake of Hevesi.
Additional reporting by Jacob Kaye.
This is a developing story. Check back with the Eagle for updates.
