New York City’s comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander has been arrested by masked federal agents while visiting an immigration court.
Lander’s campaign spokesperson confirmed to Fox5NY that Lander was indeed arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) at immigration court.
On Tuesday, Lander appeared at 26 Federal Plaza to observe immigration hearings involving individuals marked for potential deportation.
He was arrested, according to video footage of the incident, as he and his staff walked with an immigrant who was being seized by federal agents. Earlier in the day, the immigrant had their case dismissed pending appeal, per AMNY.
Additional footage of the arrest shows Lander telling immigration officials: “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 US citizens asking for a judicial warrant,” Lander can be heard saying.
The officials then pinned Lander to a wall and put him in handcuffs. It remains unclear why he was arrested.
Video and news of the arrest made the rounds on social media almost immediately after it happened.
Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo founder and Guardian contributor, slammed the move on X as “yet another elected Democratic official violently arrested and detained by Trump’s ICE Gestapo. This isn’t frog in boiling water. This fascism is happening quickly, clearly, brazenly.”
More details soon …