New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents at an immigration court Tuesday in the city. The incident occurred after Lander linked arms with a person that authorities were attempting to detain.
Lander’s press secretary Kat Capossela told NBC News in an email that “while escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE. This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely.”
In video taken by NY1 reporter Courtney Gross, Lander is seen in a hallway escorting a man whose case was reportedly dismissed after a hearing. As masked ICE agents approach, Lander locks arms with the man and asks for agents’ badge numbers and to see a warrant for the man’s arrest. Lander states: “Do you have a judicial warrant? I will let go if you have a judicial warrant,” when agents then grab Lander and shove him up against a nearby wall and handcuff him, saying that he was obstructing the proceedings. Lander is seen shouting “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” before he’s was taken away in an elevator along with several of the masked agents.
DHS told Fox News Digital that Lander is charged with assaulting or impeding a federal officer, with a DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirming Lander’s arrest and said that the comptroller was being held for “assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.” She added “it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment. No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
Lander was accompanied by his wife, Meg Barnette, who told reporters following his arrest that they were swarmed by federal agents as the comptroller escorted a man through the courthouse hallway after his immigration hearing. This was Lander’s third time observing hearings in recent weeks (per the Associated Press.)
Lander later told reporters that he had not been charged following his arrest: “I’m grateful to hear that the charges are not being brought, but if they are, I’ve got a lawyer. I don’t have to worry about my due process rights,” while comparing his case to that of a man named Edgardo that he met earlier Tuesday who is in ICE detention. Lander added: “He’s not going to sleep in his bed tonight. So far as I know, he has no lawyer. He has been stripped of his due process rights by a government and a judge that owe him a credible fear hearing before they deport him.”
Lander was elected comptroller in 2021. He is one of several candidates running in the Democratic mayoral primary slated for June 24. Zohran Mamdani, Lander’s rival for mayor who he recently cross-endorsed in the race, immediately called for his release: “NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant. This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.”
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also running for NYC mayor, called the incident the “latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump’s ICE out of control.” New York Attorney General Letitia James called Lander’s arrest “profoundly unacceptable … arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power. No one should face fear and intimidation in a courthouse, and this is a grotesque escalation of tensions. The administration’s rampant targeting of New Yorkers only makes our communities less safe.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that federal prosecutors are still investigating the incident.
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