New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI agents outside federal immigration court in New York, June 17, 2025.
Olga Fedorova | AP
New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while he was escorting a defendant out of immigration court.
“While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE,” Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, wrote on X.
“This is still developing, and our team is monitoring the situation closely,” Barnette wrote.
Video of the incident posted online showed Lander outside a courtroom at the city’s main immigration court when he is approached by officers, including some wearing masks.
Lander repeatedly asked the officers to show him a judicial warrant before he is handcuffed, per the video posted by Barnette.
The Department of Homeland Security said Lander was arrested for “assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.”
Lander was released from custody on Tuesday afternoon, about four hours after his arrest.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that they were “continuing to investigate the actions involving” Lander. As of 5 p.m. ET, Lander had not been charged with a crime, however.
Lander, a candidate in next week’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor, was in court observing immigration case proceedings, which he has done at least two other times, Barnette said.
The incident comes days after police handcuffed Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., after he was forcibly removed from a press conference that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was holding in Los Angeles.
“If that is what the administration is going to do to a United States senator for having the authority to simply ask a question, imagine what they will do to any American who dares to speak up,” Padilla said during remarks from the Senate floor on Tuesday.
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.
Olga Fedorova | AP
New York Attorney General Letitia James condemned Lander’s detention as a “profoundly unacceptable” event.
“Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” James said in a statement.
She also said it was a “grotesque escalation of tensions,” and that the Trump administration’s “rampant targeting of New Yorkers only makes our communities less safe.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
