Congressional candidate Brad Lander's NYC immigration court arrest trial begins
The bench trial of former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander over his arrest at the city's immigration court last fall was held on Wednesday in Manhattan.
A verdict from the judge is expected on Thursday morning.
What Lander is accused of
Lander, along with several other New York City elected officials, was detained at 26 Federal Plaza in June and September of 2025 while demanding access to the 10th-floor holding cells.
Charges against Lander were later dropped in the June incident. As for his Sept. 18 arrest, he rejected a plea deal and opted for trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the violation.
Prosecutors are accusing Lander of causing a disturbance on federal property. They argue he was blocking an elevator and ignored warnings to move, adding his conduct was "intentional."
Defense attorneys argued Lander and other elected officials "went to inspect condition of ICE holding cells. They did not go to block a means of access or obstruct ICE agents," adding Lander was sitting closer to the wall and that warnings only lasted around 30 seconds.
One of the government's witnesses, a senior inspector with Federal Protective Service, a law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, testified he saw elevator doors open once or twice with people inside who looked around but did not exit.
Lander took the stand and said he did not hear the elevators open or see anyone try to get out, adding if he had, he would have moved out of the way.
"We were banging on the door demanding access to the 10th floor. At one point, Commander Welsh, a Federal Protective Services officer I had seen on multiple occasions, said, 'You can stay as long as you like if you move away from the door, if you stop banging on it,' and so we did," Lander said after appearing in court. "We sat down on the ground to wait and we were not given subsequent instructions [like] 'You're in the way of the elevator. You can't be seated there.'"
According to DHS, 71 people, including two state senators and nine state Assembly members, were arrested that day.
Lander continues pursuit of 10th District House seat
Lander's bench trial comes as he continues his bid to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman in New York's 10th Congressional District.
Lander and Goldman are locked in an intense battle to win the June 23 primary in the district, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, but they recently dialed down the attacks on each other and instead took President Trump's immigration enforcement policies to task.
On June 1, they stood on opposite corners near the federal buildings in Lower Manhattan, where the feds began something known as "mega master" immigration hearings. Both said the hearings are geared to help the administration increase deportations.
"Donald Trump and Stephen Miller's evil mass deportation regime is constantly looking for new ways to mass remove our neighbors with or without the rule," Lander said. "So now they are trying, on the first day of June, a new tactic, these mega master calenderings designed to mass remove people, again, with or without the rule of law."
