New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal immigration officers inside a Manhattan immigration court. Videos on social media show the arrest, which occurred after Lander intervened as officers attempted to arrest another man. Lander questioned the officers' authority and lack of a judicial warrant.
Lander, a Democrat, was scheduled to hold a press conference calling for increased legal funding for immigrants facing ICE arrests after court appearances. His arrest happened while he was escorting a defendant out of court. His campaign released a statement confirming the arrest and stating they were monitoring the situation.
During the arrest, Lander stated, “You don’t have a judicial warrant,” and “you don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens.” The situation is described as a brief scuffle where he appears to be placed in a chokehold.
CNN reached out to ICE for further information. The article concludes stating that the story is developing and will be updated.
State & local races Immigration
See all topicsNew York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal officers inside a Manhattan immigration court on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for his office.
Multiple videos on social media show Lander being put in handcuffs after officers surrounded him in a hallway at the court building as he’s standing up against a wall next to another man.
One of the videos shows Lander appearing to stand in the way of officers who were trying to arrest a man. As he blocks officers, the officers move in and arrest him following a brief scuffle in which Lander appears to be placed in a chokehold and is then pushed up against a wall, the video shows.
“You don’t have a judicial warrant,” Lander says to the officers as he held on to the man’s arm.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant. Where is it?” Lander says.
Lander, a Democrat was scheduled to hold a noon press conference Tuesday calling for more legal funding for immigrants facing arrest by ICE officers following their court appearances – a practice that has increased significantly across courtrooms in the country in recent weeks.
As he was placed in handcuffs, Lander could be heard telling federal officers “you don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens.”
CNN has reached out to ICE for more information.
Lander’s campaign released a statement following his arrest.
“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,” said Dora Pekec, Lander’s campaign spokesperson.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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