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New York City’s top finance official and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was detained by law enforcement agents on Tuesday while trying to escort a defendant out of immigration court, according to his spokesperson.
A video posted on Lander’s account on X shows the comptroller, who is running in the Democratic primary for mayor, being handcuffed and escorted away. He can be heard saying: “You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens.”
The arrest of Lander, a progressive contender in next week’s primary, underscores the rising political temperature in response to President Donald Trump’s deportation push, with protests and skirmishes with authorities breaking out around the country. It comes just days after Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal agents at a Los Angeles press conference held by Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem.
It was not clear why Lander tried to escort the defendant out of court. “While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained” by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dora Pekec, Lander’s campaign spokesperson, told the Financial Times.
A statement posted to the X account of the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.
The Democratic primary is often viewed as the main electoral contest for the mayor’s office, as few Republican candidates get traction with voters in New York City. Former governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 amid harassment allegations, is a leading contender for the office, along with Lander’s fellow progressive Zohran Mamdani.
Lander’s rivals in the race condemned ICE and demanded his immediate release.
“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,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani told the FT: “Brad Lander’s arrest is the result of the authoritarian crisis New York City faces under Donald Trump and all those who enable him. Standing up for our immigrant neighbours should be celebrated, not condemned. All New Yorkers must speak in one voice and share one message: release Brad now. We will not rest or grow quiet until Brad — and the immigrant communities who call New York City home — are safe.”
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