New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was released from federal custody late Tuesday afternoon after being arrested by ICE hours earlier.
Photo by Dean Moses
City Comptroller Brad Lander received a hero’s welcome after being released from federal custody late Tuesday afternoon hours after his arrest at the hands of ICE.
Lander emerged from 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan at 4:21 p.m. on June 17 walking hand-in-hand with his wife and standing alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, with a group of onlookers cheering him. At Foley Square, hundreds awaited his arrival, bringing signs adorned with his name and offering him high-fives.
Hochul told the crowd that criminal charges against Lander had been dropped, prompting more cheers from the crowd. She said she saw the video of Lander’s arrest circulating online and rushed to immigration court.
“The video is shocking. I knew I needed to come down here immediately and check on his whereabouts and do what I could to intervene,” Hochul said. “I just want to say we’re a better country than this.”
amNewYork captured the dramatic moment Lander was arrested on the 12th floor at noon. He was attempting to escort a migrant from court when ICE officers ripped his grasp from the man and wrestled with the mayoral candidate before putting him in cuffs.
Following his release, Lander reported that he remained unharmed except for losing a jacket button and was happy he would be able to sleep in his own bed, something that not all of those who entered court on June 17 will be able to do.
“At that elevator, I was separated from someone named Edgardo, who I had just met a couple of minutes earlier. Edgardo is in ICE detention, and he’s not going to sleep in his bed tonight,” Lander said.“All I tried to do was hold Edgardo’s arm and ask the ICE agents: ‘Do you have a warrant?’ And they would not show me the warrant. And I said I’d let go of his arm as soon as they showed it to me, and they did not show it to me. And you saw what happened.”
Lander is in the midst of running for mayor, leaving some to speculate if the arrest was merely a dramatic way to garner more votes. But the comptroller vehemently denied that charge, noting that this was his third visit to watch ICE court proceedings unfold and to help families leave the facility.
“The reason I started coming was because a few weeks ago I saw that as they started stripping people of status, as they started dismissing cases, observers who were here had been arrested and denied their right simply to sit and watch. And that was when I said to my team I think it’s important for us to go down there,” Lander said. “I expected to sit in a courtroom like we did for a minute and just bear witness and watch.”
Despite the ordeal, Landar promised he would return to court in the future.
