A New York judge ruled Thursday that congressional hopeful Brad Lander is not guilty of misdemeanor charges related to a September inspection attempt at an immigration holding facility in Manhattan.
“I feel genuinely moved today by the rule of law — by the excellent legal counsel I had, by the thoughtful consideration by the judge and by the simple knowledge that I could enter and leave the court safely,” Lander, a close political ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said at a news conference after the hearing.
“It’s a blessing we don’t always appreciate and one that is being utterly denied to our immigrant neighbors by Trump and ICE.”
The one-day bench trial took place in New York City on Wednesday. Lander was accused of unreasonably obstructing the usual use of the elevator lobby at 26 Federal Plaza.
Lander and 75 other people — including nearly a dozen other elected officials — were arrested at 26 Federal Plaza in downtown Manhattan as they tried to inspect the living conditions for people being held in immigration detention in the building.
The group attempted the inspection after a federal judge in New York ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve the conditions for immigrants being held in the city.
“All we want at 26 Federal Plaza is for everybody facing removal proceedings by our government to have the same access to the rule of law as I had in this trial. I will keep showing up to protect our immigrant neighbors and insist that the rule of law apply to everyone,” Lander said Thursday.
Lander rejected a plea deal and asked to proceed to trial, he said in a statement in November.
“It is important to keep standing up and fighting back,” he said at a news conference ahead of the trial Wednesday. “That’s what tens of thousands of people around the country are doing today.”
“What’s most important is that we keep showing up and bearing witness,” he continued.
Lander, the former New York City comptroller, was also taken into custody last June in connection with a different incident at a federal courthouse in the city. He said at the time that he was there to act as an advocate for those in immigration detention.
Lander was arrested and accused of “assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer,” DHS said on social media at the time.
When he was released, Lander denied assaulting law enforcement.
Lander, who lost his bid for mayor last year, hopes to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.
