Emergency workers were attempting to rescue a protester who has tied himself to New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge in what appears to be an act of defiance against Rockland County’s Legislature.

The man, who is believed to former Rockland County Department of Mental Health Worker Michael Davit, is hanging from rope over the Hudson River wearing an American flag bandanna and holding a large sign bearing the words, “ Rockland County Legislature Retaliation.”

Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell said Davit “was unhappy with his termination in 2008 and would come often to public hearings and register his anger and concern.” According to Cornell, “Mr. Davit would come often to the county legislative meeting, at one point making statements that certain legislators felt were threatening” and he “could be seen on many days going up and down in front of the county office building with protest signs relating to the county executive.”

When asked if she had a message for Davit, Cornell replied:  ”I would say to him that he is jeopardizing the safety of others as well as his own safety. Many state and local emergency workers  are seeking to have him come up safely and he should consider their safety as well as his own.”