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New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was detained Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following an incident at an immigration court, according to his campaign.
“Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE,” said Kat Capossela, Lander’s press secretary, in an email to NBC News. The incident reportedly occurred after Lander escorted a defendant out of the courtroom.
Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, speaking at a press conference outside the courthouse, confirmed that her husband remained in custody. “I am confident that Brad will be out soon,” she said. It remains unclear whether Lander has been formally arrested or charged.
A video posted to Lander’s personal account on X shows a chaotic scene in a courthouse hallway. Masked officers wearing vests labeled “police” can be seen surrounding Lander. One is heard saying, “put him in custody,” before officers pin Lander to a wall and handcuff him.
“I’m not obstructing, I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant,” Lander says in the footage. “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant.”
As Lander is led into an elevator, an aide shouts, “Where are you taking the Comptroller of the city of New York?”
Barnette, a former attorney, criticized the immigration enforcement tactics and linked the event to broader political repression. “This is not the way we deal with rule of law, this is not the way people are treated in the United States,” she said. “I feel really rattled and scared… He has a U.S. passport and I know in all likelihood he is okay. But the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart with inadequate explanation. And it’s an abomination.”
She confirmed that a member of Lander’s NYPD security detail was present during the incident and added that her husband is “well.”
The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on Lander’s status. The incident comes amid a string of tense clashes between immigration officials and Democratic politicians critical of former President Trump’s immigration policies.
Just last week, Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed from a press event involving Homeland Security Secretary Kristin Noem. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver were also involved in confrontations with ICE in recent weeks.
Lander, who is running in next week’s Democratic primary for mayor, is the latest official to face detention amid growing political tensions over immigration enforcement.