'You don’t have the authority': NYC comptroller arrested for demanding 'judicial warrant'

On Tuesday, June 17, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander visited an immigration court to observe hearings involving people who had been targeted for possible deportations. And Lander, The Guardian reports, ended up being arrested by federal agents.

Lander, according to The Guardian, asked to see a judicial warrant, and agents accused him of obstruction.

Journalist Dean Moses posted video of the arrest on X, formerly Twitter. In the video, Lander can be seen telling the agents, "You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant."

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Lander also told the agents, "I'm not obstructing. I'm standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant."

The New York Times' Luis Ferré-Sadurní reported, "Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller who is running for mayor, was arrested on Tuesday by federal agents at an immigration court in Lower Manhattan as he tried to escort a migrant out of the courthouse to prevent his arrest by federal immigration authorities. Mr. Lander, a Democrat, was at the city’s main immigration courthouse, at 26 Federal Plaza, to observe court proceedings where an increasing number of migrants who appear for court have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in recent weeks."

On Bluesky, former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan saw video of the incident and posted, "Yet another elected Democratic official violently arrested and detained by Trump’s ICE Gestapo. This isn’t frog in boiling water. This fascism is happening quickly, clearly, brazenly."

Lander's arrest is also getting a lot of attention on X.

The New York Daily News' Josie Stratman tweeted, "Lander’s wife Meg Barnette, who went with him this morning, says she’s 'rattled' by his arrest.She says he’ll be fine but 'all of the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart… it's an abomination & it is not what we stand for in this country.'"

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Stratman tweeted video of progressive New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani saying, "He showed us what leadership can look like, and for that, he was arrested."

New York City Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan posted, "Trump’s ICE cowboy gestapo isn’t about public safety it’s about authoritarianism. It shreds the rule of law, ignores due process, and targets people based on fear and hate. We can’t let this fascist playbook become the new normal. Thank you for documenting @Dean_Moses."

Democratic strategist Mike Nellis wrote, "This photo of ICE arresting Brad Lander — whose only crime was asking to see a warrant — is fucking insane. What the hell is happening to this country!?"

Elections data analyst Philip Germain wrote, "If these 'cops' were acting in good faith, they wouldn't need facial coverings and masks."

X user Dew Hickey tweeted, "May every ICE agent, policeman, marine, and national guardsman who participates in these shameful violations of civil rights suffer misfortune for the rest of their days."

Another X user, Diane Devine, commented, "Now, this wouldn’t have anything to do with this arrest: Comptroller Brad Lander serves as New York City's chief financial officer, leading an office of roughly 800 public servants."

X user Rebel Party, a former Republican, tweeted, "Can someone tell the minorities working for Trump’s secret police that Nazi collaborators ended up in the camps too."

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