Women’s Safety Is at Stake in New York City: Savannah’s Story

By Emma Foley

Raised Catholic and conservative, Savannah Craven Antao’s political awakening began in high school during Donald Trump’s first campaign, when she witnessed a country sharply divided— and increasingly hostile toward conservatives. 

Being brought up by a mother who chose life— and witnessing a friend narrowly avoid an abortion after a sign from above— taught Savannah a fundamental truth: every life has purpose, and women are stronger than their circumstances.

Her Patriot Voice

Savannah moved to New York City to study musical theater, where she quickly found herself immersed in a deeply progressive environment. Questioning leftist ideology— particularly on gender— isolated her from many of her peers. After refusing the Covid vaccine and leaving school, she channeled her passion into activism: first working for pro-life organization Students for Life, and then founding independent platform Her Patriot Voice in February 2025 to champion faith, freedom, and a culture of life.

Her Patriot Voice has grown rapidly. “Within seven or eight months, I’ve grown over 450,000 followers on Instagram,” Craven Antao said. “It’s truly a blessing.”

The Viral Assault

Within weeks of launching Her Patriot Voice, however, Craven Antao met the wrath of the Left. 

“She pulls back one fist and punches me right in the middle of my forehead. Then the next hit, with her phone. That’s what caused the gash in my eyebrow,” Craven Antao recounted in an exclusive interview with The Conservateur.

While filming one of her signature man-on-the-street-style videos on the pro-life issue near the 125th Street subway station in Harlem, Craven Antao was approached by a woman named Brianna J. Rivers. For 20 minutes, the two engaged in dialogue about abortion, women, and religion. Then, without warning, Rivers attacked Craven Antao, leaving her bloodied on the sidewalk. She strutted away.

“I’m kneeling down,” Craven Antao depicted. “I had my hands over my face. I couldn’t see for probably 20 seconds. My husband’s yelling at her, trying to chase her away. When I take my hands down from my face, they are covered in blood. I don’t know where the blood is coming from. I don’t know if I am imagining being okay and imagining being conscious. I’m in fight mode. I’m like, I need to get back up. I cannot be lying on the streets of New York right now.”

Later, when Craven Antao watched her assault on video, she noticed what New Yorkers know to be commonplace. Most witnesses walked past her, expressionless. Only two women stopped to ask if Savannah— bleeding on the sidewalk— was okay. One of them helped her call the police.

Craven Antao believes that Rivers would have come back for more if it wasn’t for her husband’s presence. Henry Antao is always close by, acting as Savannah’s cameraman-slash-bodyguard. 

“It’s really because of him that I’ve been able to do my YouTube channel because we’re always together,” she said.

But even a close bodyguard— or two— likely would not have been able to completely prevent Rivers’s out-of-the-blue attack, professional security and law enforcement officers told Craven Antao. She has had many other close-calls, she said. She’s had belongings stolen, others ripped out of her hands. She’s been followed, shoved. 

After the assault, which went viral on social media, Craven Antao and her husband sat down for several conversations. How could she continue her mission in a city that disregards the safety of its women? This time the injury required a few stitches, but next time it could be broken bones, even brain damage.

The couple determined they could no longer do their advocacy work without security. “[Henry] can’t hold a camera and be my bodyguard. It’s just not possible. And also, one bodyguard isn’t enough. If somebody comes up from the left, and my bodyguard’s on the right, there’s a chance he may not be able to get there quick enough.”

The couple created a GiveSendGo page, which is still active. All proceeds support Craven Antao’s security detail— a costly but necessary expense. She is determined to continue Her Patriot Voice and have hard discussions where they are most needed— on the streets of New York City.

“It was definitely something that God used for good,” she said of the viral assault. “It was worth it because the millions of people who saw the video had to stop and think about abortion.”

Craven Antao’s traumatic moment and its legal aftermath also opened the door for New Yorkers to contemplate the way their city is being run.

Failure to Prosecute

Craven Antao’s assailant, Brianna J. Rivers, was charged with second-degree assault. 

“This was the easiest case that could have been put into a lawyer’s lap,” Craven Antao explained. “Everything is on video from start to finish— from the moment she walks up to me to the moment she walks away.”

Rivers also confessed to the attack on Facebook.

However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office failed to turn over evidence to the defense team on time, missing a necessary deadline. Subsequently, what was believed to be an open-shut case, witnessed by millions and confessed to by the suspect online, was dismissed.

The Thomas More Society announced after the dismissal that its attorneys will file a civil suit  against Brianna Rivers and seek damages on behalf of Craven Antao.

“District Attorney Bragg’s shocking refusal to uphold justice only works to undermine confidence in the system, especially when our political climate has become as fraught as it is now,” said Christopher Ferrara, Senior Counsel at Thomas More Society. “Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue.”

Bragg is infamous for caring more about criminals than about victims, Craven Antao added. These sentiments are held by many, both in the Big Apple and across the nation— including 20-year public defender Maud Maron, who is running against Bragg for district attorney this November.

Echoing Craven Antao, Maron called the mismanagement unacceptable and inexcusable. “The case just came and went and got dismissed like so many other cases.” Even more troubling, Maron shared the attitude of those with whom she’s spoken while campaigning.

“They’ll say, ‘Well, maybe if her politics were different, they would have prosecuted it.’ And that just tells you what bad shape our District Attorney’s office is in. This is a man who’s been very politically active.”

Maron, a lifelong, moderate Democrat now running against Bragg with an “R” next to her name, recalled the “costly and foolish” political prosecutions against President Trump that “didn’t increase the safety of our city at all.”

Who Is Maud Maron?

A mother of four children, all raised in Manhattan, Maron believes the city was much safer when her eldest— now teenagers— were little. She knows there are moms all over the city who feel the same way about public safety.

Back in 2021, Maron ran for City Council on a platform of opposing the Left’s radical calls to defund the police and close Rikers Island, the largest jail complex in the city. At the end of last year, Maron saw that Bragg was up for reelection with no challengers. 

“As a defense lawyer, as a criminal defense litigator, I’ve worked in the courthouse for many years,” she explained. “I know it well. And, I know what it should look like even on the other side of the aisle, so I decided to run.”

Alvin Bragg’s Coddling of Criminals

Under a District Attorney Maud Maron, Craven Antao’s case would never have fallen through the cracks.

“I just don’t suffer from the same foolish notions that people like Alvin Bragg suffer from, that somehow the people who commit the crimes are the actual victims and need to be tended to and taken care of, and that crime victims can be ignored.”

Maron recounted her years working in that same courthouse, back when Bob Morgenthau was a district attorney, back when the district attorneys that were there really were very aggressive about pursuing and prosecuting cases fully.

Maron has spoken to longtime New Yorkers, who used to take the subway all the time and now don’t.  She’s talked to young women, who claim they’ve been assaulted multiple times on the streets. She’s talked to bodega workers, who say they “just don’t call the police anymore.”

Maron has spoken to frustrated NYPD officers: “They make a good arrest. They have the evidence. It’s lawfully obtained. The person goes through the system and the very next day that person is out again on the street.”

A Manhattan under Maud Maron

For Maron, enough is enough. If elected on Tuesday, November 4, she vows to repeal Bragg’s “Day One” memo, rebuild trust between the DA’s office and the NYPD, and restore accountability and deterrence as the bedrock of public safety— so women like Savannah Craven Antao, and every New Yorker, can move through the city with confidence again.

This November is a test. New York can choose a continuation of the chaos under Alvin Bragg, or it can steer itself toward accountability, lawfulness, and safety for its most vulnerable.

For Craven Antao and her public advocacy, Maron as district attorney would mean a world of difference. But no matter what, Craven Antao is staying put. She’ll continue to speak boldly, spread her pro-life message, and keep the faith that this city can be saved.

“I’ve been gifted a platform in this city, the most difficult city,” Craven Antao professed. “My husband and I don’t know what the future holds, but for now, we are staying. We are not going to run away simply because it’s dangerous. God has given us this opportunity to make a difference.”

Emma Foley is a Content Manager at National Review in New York City. Originally from Pennsylvania, Emma earned a degree in Marketing and Theology from Boston College. You can follow her @emmafoleymedia.