New York Metropolis Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was taken into custody by federal brokers at an immigration court docket Tuesday as he was “escorting” an individual out of a courtroom, his marketing campaign says.
The individual Lander was strolling out of the courtroom was additionally taken into custody. Federal officers confirmed Lander’s arrest; his marketing campaign launched video (above) of him being taken into custody.
“No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,” the DHS assertion mentioned.
Lander had spent the morning observing immigration court docket hearings and informed an AP reporter that he was there to “accompany” some immigrants out of the constructing. His spouse, Meg Barnette, was with him simply earlier than he was detained.
AP
AP
New York Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander is positioned beneath arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI brokers exterior federal immigration court docket on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Picture/Olga Fedorova)
Talking on the comptroller’s official YouTube channel later Tuesday, Barnette, who acknowledges she is herself a lawyer, mentioned, “What I saw here today is not the rule of law.”
Barnette defined that Lander was nonetheless in custody as of early Tuesday afternoon however was doing effectively.
“I’m simply very conscious of how I really feel proper now watching Brad being taken away and that it’s going to be okay, and for all of these different households in there, they will’t say that,” she mentioned.
His detention comes as federal immigration officers are conducting large-scale arrests exterior immigration courtrooms throughout the nation, together with in New York Metropolis.
New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James known as it “unacceptable.”
“Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” she mentioned in an announcement. “Nobody ought to face worry and intimidation in a courthouse, and this can be a grotesque escalation of tensions. The administration’s rampant focusing on of New Yorkers solely makes our communities much less secure.”
Emailed inquiries to the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement weren’t instantly returned.
Lander’s Democratic opponents within the major criticized the ICE transfer and demanded Lander’s launch.
NBC 4’s Gus Rosendale stories on President Trump’s Reality Social put up about ramping up ICE efforts in blue cities.
