On Tuesday afternoon (June 17), New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander was accompanying an individual out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in downtown Manhattan, when he was handcuffed and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The entire interaction was caught on video by reporters and cameramen inside.
“Show me your warrant! Show me your badge!” Lander states in the video as several ICE agents surround and physically restrain him up against a wall in the hallway. “I’m not obstructing. I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant. You don‘t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant,” he added. The agents then lead him into an elevator.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement afterward in a post on X, formerly Twitter, alleging that Lander obstructed and assaulted officers. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences. “New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer,” they wrote.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul blasted the incident in an earlier unrelated press conference. “It’s bulls—,” Hochul said. “Brad Lander has stepped up to be a guiding help to [migrants], and this is what happens to him? What the hell is happening to this country?” She would escort Lander from the building to meet reporters at Foley Square along with his wife Meg. “I will be fine, but Edgardo is not going to be fine,” Lander said. “And the rule of law is not fine and our constitutional democracy is not fine.”
Lander has been charged with assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer, according to Fox News Digital. There is no word on when he is expected to appear in court. The detainment comes after other incidents where ICE agents have roughly detained Democratic lawmakers. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested last month after he and other Democratic members of congress tried to enter the privately-run Delaney Hall detention center. Charges against him were dismissed by a federal judge, but officials with the Department of Justice also indicted Representative LaMonica McIver for “interfering with federal law enforcement officers.” She stated that she would plead not guilty. California Senator Alex Padilla was also forced to the ground after trying to talk to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles a week ago.
NYC Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander Was Detained By ICE
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