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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Democrat, has been released after being held for only a few hours for allegedly assaulting an immigration official on Tuesday.
While Lander, who is running for mayor of New York City, is now being held up as a hero by many progressives, some say his arrest was more political theater than activism.
Joe Borelli, a former New York City councilman and GOP political operative, told Fox News Digital that he believes Lander’s arrest was a “staged event.”
“Election day is a week from today, and early voting has begun. Make no mistake, the purpose was to get the headlines that he’s getting,” said Borelli. “It’s instant name recognition and establishing even stronger liberal bona fides.”
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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Democrat, (left) has been released after being held for only a few hours for allegedly assaulting an immigration official on Tuesday. (New York City Comptroller Brad Lander website)
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Borelli likened Lander’s arrest to the recent arrest of Newark Democrat Mayor Ras Baraka and the detaining of Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., who were both detained for allegedly disrupting different federal events.
“This is the playbook for lefty politicians who want to make a get-a-headline. They try to get arrested, they get arrested and then fake outrage over getting arrested,” he said.
He went on to say that Lander’s arrest was part of a “coordinated plan” that “not only benefits Brad Lander but also Zohran Mamdani, who he has cross-endorsed.”
New York City works on a ranked choice voting system, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference and select multiple candidates.
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“So any momentum Brad gets helps that left-leaning faction led by Zohran at the expense of Cuomo,” explained Borelli, adding that “the real loser is the taxpayers.”
Lander was arrested by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents on Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
Video footage of Lander’s arrest appeared to show him hanging onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, repeatedly asking officials if they had a judicial warrant.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested by DHS agents on June 17, 2025. (Brad Lander/X)
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” Lander said in the video. “Where is it? Where is the warrant?”
Hours later, Lander walked out of the federal courthouse where he was being held. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a news conference outside the courthouse that the charges against Lander had been dropped, though the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said it is “continuing to investigate” Lander’s actions.
In response to the incident, a DHS spokesperson said, “Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—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,” said the spokesperson.
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NYC Comptroller and Mayoral candidate Brad Lander speaks during a press conference on February 18, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Speaking after his release on Tuesday, Lander said, “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 accused the Trump administration of “stripping” illegal immigrants of their due process rights.
During the press conference outside the federal building, Lander said: “This is a critical time to have a mayor who will stand up to ICE and stand up to Donald Trump and insist on due process and the laws of this city. This is a sanctuary city. I was proud to cosponsor those laws. And I’m going to show up and defend them.”
He thanked the several other New York City Democratic mayoral candidates who protested his arrest and took aim at former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is the leading candidate for New York City mayor, saying, “New Yorkers deserve better in a mayor than Andrew Cuomo.”
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Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo condemned the arrest, calling ICE “out of control.” ( REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado)
“I am very grateful to the other mayoral candidates who came out here to call for my release … and I really hope New Yorkers will elect one of us,” said Lander.
New York Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt responded to the incident by telling Fox News Digital that “anyone who obstructs or assaults law enforcement officials – including attention-hungry politicians – deserves to be arrested.”
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William O’Reilly, a New York Republican political consultant, also chimed in, telling Fox News Digital that he believes “Lander is just the latest idiotic New York City progressive getting arrested for supporting lawbreakers.”
“More than half of the Democratic mayoral field is running on a platform of defying U.S. immigration law. That’s all responsible voters should need to know,” said O’Reilly.
Lander’s office and campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
