Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller and a candidate for mayor, said he has not been charged following his arrest for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer while at an immigration court on Tuesday.
Lander, a Democrat, was escorting a defendant out of immigration court in Manhattan on Tuesday when he was “taken by masked agents and detained” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said in a statement.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that federal prosecutors are still investigating the incident.
“I’m grateful to hear that the charges are not being brought, but if they are, I’ve got a lawyer. I don’t have to worry about my due process rights,” Lander said during a press briefing following his release from custody, while comparing his case to that of a man named Edgardo that he met earlier Tuesday who is in ICE detention. “He’s not going to sleep in his bed tonight. So far as I know, he has no lawyer. He has been stripped of his due process rights by a government and a judge that owe him a credible fear hearing before they deport him.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called video of Lander’s detainment “shocking.”
“This is a sorry day for New York and our country,” she said during the press briefing with Lander following his release.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that “it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment.”
“No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,” the spokesperson added.
Lander denied the allegations, saying, “I certainly did not assault an officer.”
Lander said this was the third week in a row that he has shown up at the courthouse to observe the proceedings.
“I did not come today expecting to get arrested,” he said. “I really think I failed today because my goal was to get Edgardo out of the building.”
Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, told reporters she was accompanying him to the courthouse on Tuesday to “stand witness to what was going on.” She said Lander and others had “linked arms” with a man and had repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant containing evidence of the grounds for the man’s deportation when they were “swarmed” by masked agents.
“I am confident Brad’s going to be out soon and am very proud of him for standing up,” Barnette said during a press briefing earlier Tuesday. “It’s a really sobering and upsetting situation that I haven’t quite processed all the way yet.”
Lander was elected comptroller in 2021. He is one of several candidates running in the Democratic mayoral primary slated for June 24.
“This is a critical time to have a mayor who will stand up to ICE and stand up to Donald Trump and insist on to process and the laws of this city,” Lander said following his release. “This is a sanctuary city. I was proud to co-sponsor those laws and I’m going to show up and defend them.”
His detainment has drawn swift condemnation from New York officials, including his fellow mayoral candidates.
Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblymember and Democratic mayoral candidate, called for Lander’s release.
“Brad Lander’s arrest is the result of the authoritarian crisis New York City faces under Donald Trump and all those who enable him,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Standing up for our immigrant neighbors 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.”
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also running for NYC mayor, said the incident is the “latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump’s ICE out of control.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James called Lander’s arrest “profoundly unacceptable.”
“Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” she said in a statement. “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.”
Democratic New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver also spoke out against Lander’s arrest, which follows her indictment last week on charges alleging she assaulted law enforcement officers outside of an immigration detention facility in Newark while attempting to thwart the arrest of the city’s mayor.
“This administration will stop at nothing to intimidate those who dare to stand against their hateful agenda,” she said in a post on social media. “This is a horrifying state of affairs for our country.”