NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court Tuesday after he linked arms with a person authorities were attempting to detain.
A reporter with The Associated Press and other journalists witnessed at a federal building in Manhattan, the latest confrontation between U.S. agents and a Democratic politician objecting to the Trump administration's mass detention and deportation programs.
Lander was released from custody after a few hours. The U.S. attorney鈥檚 office said it was investigating his actions and would decide later whether to charge him with a crime. The immigrant Lander escorted out of the courtroom was also arrested.
Lander had spent the morning observing immigration court hearings and told an AP reporter he was there to 鈥渁ccompany鈥� some immigrants out of the building.
His confrontation with agents unfolded quickly. As a group of agents moved in to detain a man who had exited a courtroom, Lander locked arms with the immigrant and demanded to see a judicial warrant. For more than 40 seconds, agents tried to physically separate the two, pulling both men down the hall in a chaotic scrum as photographers snapped photos.
Eventually, the agents wrested the two apart, then grabbed Lander鈥檚 arms and put them behind his back.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e obstructing," an agent told Lander.
鈥淚鈥檓 not obstructing. I鈥檓 standing right here in the hallway,鈥� Lander said as he was being handcuffed.
In a statement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Lander 鈥渨as arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer."
After his release, Lander exited the building holding hands with his wife and accompanied by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, to the cheers of a gathered crowd. He told reporters all he was trying to do was hold the arm of the man being detained and 鈥渃ertainly did not鈥� assault an officer.
鈥淚 am happy to report that I am just fine. I lost a button,鈥� Lander said, adding that he planned to return to the immigration court again as a form of nonviolent way of standing up to Trump鈥檚 immigration policies.
鈥淚 believe it is important to show up and bear witness and accompany people,鈥� he said.
He added that the man 鈥渞ipped鈥� from his arms 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have a lawyer鈥� and will likely sleep in an immigration detention center.
The episode occurred as federal immigration officials large-scale arrests outside immigration courtrooms across the country. In many cases, immigrants are arrested after a judge grants a government request to dismiss their case, making them eligible for expedited removal.
鈥淭hey remove any opportunity for due process,鈥� Lander had told reporters earlier in the day.
Lander鈥檚 arrest comes a little more than a month after Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka was outside a federal immigration detention center in his city, though the charge was later dropped. Baraka鈥檚 fellow Democrat, Rep. LaMonica McIver, federal agents stemming from her role at the same visit as the mayor. She鈥檚 denied the charges.
Last week, Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was from a news conference in Los Angeles for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as he tried to speak about . On Tuesday, more Americans to speak out.
Lander is a candidate in the city's . Early voting in the contest is underway and the election is next week. Other candidates in the race quickly weighed in to criticize the arrest.
鈥淭his is the latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump鈥檚 ICE out of control 鈥� one can only imagine the fear families across our country feel when confronted with ICE,鈥� said former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running in the primary.
rushed to the federal building to offer support to Lander, as did Hochul, who condemned the arrest in a post on X by likening it to excrement.
A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a brief statement that the office would prosecute any violation of federal law.
鈥淭he safety and security of official proceedings, government officials, law enforcement officers, and all members of the public who participate in them is a core focus of our Office,鈥� said the spokesperson, Nicholas Biase.
Cedar Attanasio, The Associated Press
