New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was taken into custody by federal agents at an immigration court Tuesday as he was “escorting” a person out of a courtroom, his campaign says.
The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement on X saying Lander had been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal law officer.
“No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,” the DHS statement said.
Kat Capossela, Lander’s press secretary, told NBC over email, “While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE. This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely.”
The person Lander was walking out of the courtroom was also taken into custody.
Lander had spent the morning observing immigration court hearings and told an AP reporter that he was there to “accompany” some immigrants out of the building. His wife, Meg Barnette, was with him just before he was detained.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is placed under arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI agents outside federal immigration court on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)Speaking on the comptroller’s official YouTube channel later Tuesday, Barnette, who acknowledges she herself is a lawyer, said, “What I saw here today is not the rule of law.”
Barnette explained that Lander is still in custody but is well.
“I am just very aware of how I feel right now watching Brad being taken away and that it’s going to be ok, and for all of those other families in there, they can’t say that,” she said.
His detention comes as federal immigration officials are conducting large-scale arrests outside immigration courtrooms across the country, including in New York City.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called it “unacceptable.”
“Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” she said in a statement. “No one should face fear and intimidation in a courthouse, and this is a grotesque escalation of tensions. The administration’s rampant targeting of New Yorkers only makes our communities less safe.”
Emailed inquiries to the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were not immediately returned.
Lander’s Democratic opponents in the primary criticized the ICE move and demanded Lander’s release.
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