New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents on Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
DHS told Fox News Digital that Lander is charged with assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment,” a DHS spokesperson said. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
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Video footage of the arrest appeared to show Lander hanging onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, repeatedly asking officials if they had a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” Lander said in the video. “Where is it. Where is the warrant.”
New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said the arrest, which she claimed was motivated by Lander “asking questions,” was an abuse of power and a threat to democracy.
“Arresting a public official, the duly-elected comptroller of the City of New York, for asking questions is dangerous intimidation and shows a wanton disregard for the will of the people of New York,” Lieberman wrote in a statement. “It sends an unmistakably authoritarian message – that ICE doesn’t care about the rule of law and that anyone exercising their right to challenge ICE and speak up for immigrants will be punished. All elected officials and candidates for office should condemn this arrest in the strongest terms and stand up for New Yorkers.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James described Lander’s actions as “standing up for immigrants.”
“This is profoundly unacceptable,” James wrote in a statement. “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.”
Other public officials took to social media to react to the high-profile arrest.
“This is the latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump’s ICE out of control — one can only imagine the fear families across our country feel when confronted with ICE,” former New York Governor and NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo wrote on X. “Fear of separation, fear of being taken from their schools, fear of being detained without just cause. This is not who we are. This must stop, and it must stop now.”
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Mayoral candidates Scott Stringer and Zohran Kwame Mamdani called for Lander to be released “immediately.”
“The recent politicization of federal immigration authorities under the Trump administration is disturbing and shameful,” Stringer wrote. “I call for Brad to be released immediately. I hope to see him out on the campaign trail soon.”
“This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice,” Mamdani added. “Release him now.”
The arrest comes less than a month after charges were dropped against Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka for federal trespassing at Delaney Hall, a privately operated ICE facility.
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