New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was detained inside a Lower Manhattan immigration court Tuesday morning by masked federal agents as he attempted to escort a man from his court appearance there.
From The City NYC, the report: In the chaotic scene at around noon, Lander asked the agents repeatedly to show a judicial warrant. The federal agents escorted him into an elevator, with one member of his NYPD security detail alongside him.
“You do not have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander repeated, as the officers tighten handcuffs to his wrists. A reporter from THE CITY had overheard one agent say to another minutes before Lander’s arrest, “Do you want to arrest the Comptroller?”
As usual, the spokesperson for the Trump Administration began the usual revision of events in real time so viewers could begIn spreading their alternate truth.
“New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,”
In a tweet with the same words, the official DHS account added that “it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment.
THE CITY’s video of the arrest shows Lander holding on to the person ICE is arresting, but does not show him assaulting anyone. It wasn’t immediately clear what charges, if any, the mayoral candidate will face.