(NEW YORK) — Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller and a candidate for mayor, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday, according to a campaign spokesperson.
Lander, a Democrat, was escorting a defendant out of immigration court in Manhattan on Tuesday when he was “taken by masked agents and detained by ICE,” his campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said in a statement.
“This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely,” Pekec added.
ABC News has reached out to ICE for comment.
His wife, Meg Barnette, told reporters she was accompanying him to the courthouse on Tuesday to “stand witness to what was going on.” She said Lander and others had “linked arms” with a man and had repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant containing evidence of the grounds for the man’s deportation when they were “swarmed” by masked agents.
“I am confident Brad’s going to be out soon and am very proud of him for standing up,” Barnette said during a press briefing. “It’s a really sobering and upsetting situation that I haven’t quite processed all the way yet.”
She said he is being held in the building and has retained an attorney.
Lander was elected comptroller in 2021. He is one of several candidates running in the Democratic mayoral primary slated for June 24.
Fellow Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani called for Lander’s release.
“NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant,” Mamdani said in a statement on social media. “This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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