A since-fired New York City college professor who threatened a reporter with a machete could end up striking a plea deal with Bronx prosecutors in the case.
Shellyne Rodriguez was seen on video in May lunging out of her apartment and into the hallway where she held a machete to veteran New York Post reporter Reuven Fenton's throat. Fenton had knocked on her door for comment after she lashed out at Hunter College students manning a table with anti-abortion materials, blasting the content as "f---ing propaganda" before throwing items from the display.
According to NYPD, Rodriguez also followed Fenton out on the street, chasing him with the machete.
A prospective plea agreement on charges of menacing and harassment was discussed in Bronx Criminal Court Monday where Rodriguez appeared for a hearing.
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Fenton joined "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to discuss the former professor's possible deal, telling co-host Steve Doocy that the prosector's office has been calling him with updates on the case.
"They're working out a plea deal that will involve some sort of program, as they put it. Presumably either community service or anger management or something along those lines," he said, referring to a letter criminal court Judge Matthew Bondy received from Bronx Community Solutions, a community service and counseling-based program that acts as an alternative to jail time.
"Are you okay with that?" Doocy asked.
"Do I want to see her go to prison? It is something that I don't necessarily want," he responded. "If somebody from the Bronx prosecutors asked me, said, ‘You know, what do I want out of this?’ And I said, ‘What I want is for her to change.’ That's really what I want. That, of course, is never going to happen because she's so indoctrinated."
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Fenton argued that prison would have no impact on someone so heavily indoctrinated at her age.
"I mean, from her point of view, prison might be a sense, something of an accomplishment for all I know. I mean, what I'd like her to see is to get some help that would, you know, possibly show her a new perspective in life that doesn't revolve around this kind of radical activism and seeing violence as a solution…"
The Bronx district attorney's office said Monday that it had not "determined nor communicated a plea offer yet to Rodriguez," the New York Post reported, adding that a D.A. spokesperson said, "We are reviewing information sent by defense counsel, continuing our investigation, and keeping the victim apprised of any developments."
The report also detailed that the judge, upon prosecutors' requests, extended orders of protection for Rodriguez to stay away from Fenton.
Fenton told Doocy Wednesday that he believes the machete gesture was performative.
"I think that she was posturing. I think she was trying to scare me," he said. "And also, you know, as somebody who's embedded in the art community and performance art and doing all of these kinds of things, I think she was performing a gesture that she thought was, in her world, a great way to tell me to get away and take my right-wing media with me and to quit harassing her."
Judge Bondy set next court date for "possible disposition" for Oct. 2, according to the Post.
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