Law enforcement officials detained New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander at an immigration court on Tuesday as he attempted to escort a man out of the building.
Meg Barnette, Lander’s wife, confirmed the detention in a post shared to her husband’s official account on X. According to Dora Pekec, a Lander campaign spokesperson, Lander is still in custody.
It is one of a number of dramatic moments in which a Democratic official has been detained by federal officers. Five days ago, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was thrown to the ground and handcuffed after he interrupted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem at a press conference.
Video shared on X by Courtney Gross, an investigative reporter at NY1 News, shows Lander and others attempting to escort a man out of the building after his case was reportedly dismissed. The man is then placed into an elevator by officers who appear to be federal agents.
In a second video posted by Gross, Lander attempts to escort a man down the hallway. Lander holds the man that agents appear to be trying to arrest and does not let go.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” the comptroller says. “Where is it? Where is the warrant?” About ten seconds later, the agents—some of whom were wearing masks—grab Lander and place him in handcuffs.
“I’m not obstructing. I’m standing right here in the hallway,” Lander says as he is being detained. “I asked to see the judicial warrant.” He adds, “You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens asking for a judicial warrant.” The masked agents then refused to answer questions about where they were taking the New York City comptroller.
Shortly before he was detained, a reporter from The City asked Lander why he was spending the last days of the mayoral primary court-watching. “I don’t think there’s any place that’s more important to be right now than bearing witness and trying to stand up for the rule of law,” Lander told the outlet. That reporter also described hearing an agent say to another, “Do you want to arrest the comptroller?”
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, wrote on social media that ICE only needed an administrative warrant—not a judicial warrant. “[B]ut ICE refuses even to show him that, which is outrageous,” Reichlin-Melnick added. “If they have a warrant, they should show it. If they don’t, they don’t have arrest authority. But him holding on to the guy… could be trouble.”
The Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts have become a flashpoint in the New York City mayoral race. Lander has trailed in third place in recent polls, behind former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. Early voting in the primary began last Saturday. Earlier this month, Lander observed immigration hearings at a courthouse in Lower Manhattan. The New York Times reported that he had escorted out migrants who seemed to be at risk of detention.
Mamdani, who recently cross-endorsed with Lander, called for the comptroller’s immediate release. “This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice,” said Mamdani.
