Was Brad Lander Arrested? Find Out Why He Was Handcuffed
Lander, the New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate, was taken in handcuffs by officers inside a Manhattan immigration courthouse.
Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, was physically removed from a Manhattan immigration courthouse in handcuffs on Tuesday, June 17. As seen in a video from the incident, he was forced against a wall and cuffed by men wearing masks and wearing plain black shirts, while uniformed officers were visible in the background. Moments beforehand, Lander had linked arms with his staff and an immigrant who was targeted for arrest after a court hearing. The incident comes days after Senator Alex Padilla was physically removed by officers in Los Angeles, so was Lander arrested?
Who Is Brad Lander?
Lander has been the New York City comptroller since 2022. The comptroller is the cityâs chief financial officer and chief auditor of its agencies.
Was Brad Lander Arrested?
As seen in a video from the incident, it appeared that Lander was arrested by masked officers. They were seen handcuffing the comptroller. According to The Independent, he was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and FBI and Treasury Department agents.
Additionally, a reporter from New Yorkâs The City claimed they heard one officer asking another, âDo you want to arrest the comptroller?â moments before doing so.
Upon being handcuffed and removed from the hallway, Lander was heard saying, âshow me your warrant, show me your badgeâ and, âI will let go if you show me a judicial warrant. I would like to see the warrant, and then I will let go.â
âIâm not obstructing, I am standing right here in the hallway,â he said, according to The Independent. âYou donât have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant.â
The exact details of Landerâs apparent arrest by the masked officers are still unclear.
Why Was Brad Lander Detained?
Itâs unclear why Lander was arrested by the officers, but according to his wife, Meg Barnette, an immigration court judge âchastisedâ Lander for entering the courtroom and threatened to lock the door, per The Independent.
âI know in all likelihood heâs going to be OK, and all the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart with inadequate explanation. Itâs an abomination,â Barnette said, the outlet reported. âWhat I saw was shocking and unacceptable ⌠What I saw today was not the rule of law. That was not due process.â
Landerâs mayoral Democratic opponents Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani both condemned the incident. Mamdani told reporters outside of the federal building of Landerâs arrest that this was ânot about an election,â but rather, itâs about âensuring that we protect the city and the country we love.â
âThis is about ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers who come here for regular check-ins do not need to fear being separated from their families in the most brutal and cruel ways imaginable,â Mamdani added.
Cuomo, for his part, told reporters about Lander, âTodayâs arrest is but one example of what ICE is doing every single day across the country. ⌠One can only imagine the fear families across our country feel when confronted with ICE. 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.â