NEW YORK — Congressional candidate Brad Lander on Wednesday got the day in court that he demanded after a misdemeanor charge was lodged against him last summer after he was arrested while protesting with other elected officials outside an immigration holding facility in New York City.
The Democrat testified in Manhattan federal court in his own defense that he did not try to block an elevator by sitting near it during the protest on the 10th floor of a federal building in lower Manhattan that houses 40 federal agencies, including the FBI.
A magistrate judge who heard the one-day trial without a jury said he’ll rule Thursday morning.
A prosecutor said Lander was guilty of the charge because he was in front of an elevator whose doors never opened during the 20 to 25 minutes he was seated on the floor in a circle with the other politicians. Prosecutors have said they will not seek jail time if Lander is convicted.
Lander, formerly the city’s comptroller and an ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, testified that nobody told him to step away from the elevator or said he was obstructing it before his arrest.
“We were chanting: ‘We shall not be moved,’” he said. “The idea is to say: ‘We’re here for our immigrant neighbors and we’re not going to stop showing up and defending their rights.’”
Lander is challenging U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman for a liberal district covering lower Manhattan and parts of brownstone Brooklyn.
Lander, who ran for mayor last year, was arrested with 10 other lawmakers Sept. 18 after they tried to inspect holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza, which also houses an immigration court.
Weeks afterward, he rejected a deal that would have made the misdemeanor obstruction charge go away in six months.
After his arrest, Lander was singled out by then-Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement after his arrest. She called him “another sanctuary politician pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees.”
