(NEW YORK) — Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller and a candidate for mayor, was arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer while at an immigration court on Tuesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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 DHS 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’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. “It’s a really sobering and upsetting situation that I haven’t quite processed all the way yet.”
She said he is being held in the building and has retained an attorney.
Lander was elected comptroller in 2021. He is one of several candidates running in the Democratic mayoral primary slated for June 24.
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.
“NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant,” Mamdani said in a statement on social media. “This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.”
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.”
ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.
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