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\n

NEW YORK \u2014 A federal judge ruled Thursday that former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is not guilty of misdemeanor obstruction for blocking an elevator while protesting outside an immigrant holding area.<\/p>\n

Lander was hit with the obstruction charge last September while demonstrating in support of detained immigrants<\/a> at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan. He was offered a deal to drop the charge but opted instead for a trial to bring attention to the federal government\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

Lander said he was there with state legislators to view the facility\u2019s conditions, not to purposefully block an elevator \u2014 and that he would have moved if asked. In reading his findings, Judge Henry Ricardo described Lander\u2019s testimony as consistent with video evidence, noting that his movements didn\u2019t suggest he was purposefully trying to block the elevator and that Lander appeared \u201ctired and a bit resigned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo offense to Mr. Lander,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n

Lander \u2014 who entered the courtroom in good spirits and holding a Knicks hat \u2014 told reporters after the verdict: \u201cI didn’t feel tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt an urgency to show up that day and try to fight what ICE is doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After a month’s delay, Lander finally had his first day in court Wednesday \u2014 less than two weeks before the primary election \u2014 bringing immigration even more to the forefront in the waning days of his campaign against Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the six-hour trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Cohen framed it as a straightforward case \u2014 that it was well-documented Lander was sitting in front of an elevator and didn\u2019t move after being told to do so multiple times.<\/p>\n

Cohen pointed to Lander singing \u201cWe Shall Not Be Moved,\u201d a well-known protest song popularized during the Civil Rights movement, while sitting in front of the elevator. But Ricardo was not swayed by that argument, reasoning that it was a chaotic moment and Lander was, in fact, moved, despite the song he was singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cActions speak louder than words,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ricardo said the government failed to prove Lander purposefully obstructed an elevator. He also said he didn\u2019t weigh what was being protested or whether the protest was just \u2014 a stated goal for Lander in deciding to take the case to trial. Instead, Wednesday\u2019s proceedings focused largely on elevator logistics and signage at 26 Federal Plaza, not the Trump administration’s immigration efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I wish that they had granted our discovery motions, sought harder to prove the case and given us the ability to hold ICE accountable? Yes, I wish that,\u201d Lander said after the verdict.<\/p>\n

Immigration policy has emerged as a flashpoint between Lander and Goldman, who is seeking a third term, especially as the Trump administration threatens to ramp up enforcement<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n

Goldman, who often highlights his oversight visits at immigrant detention centers and his \u201ctriage center\u201d to support detainees near 26 Federal Plaza, has repeatedly criticized Lander for his approach to immigration. On Wednesday, he referred to Lander\u2019s case<\/a> as \u201cperformative\u201d and \u201cself-promoting.\u201d At a debate last week, Goldman chided him for the rhetorical refrain that he puts his \u201cbody on the line\u201d for immigrants and for fundraising off of it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Brad never did get the information he sought from ICE, I have all of that information from my weekly oversight visits and would be happy to brief him,\u201d Goldman said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Lander, who frequently conducts court watching shifts, was also arrested<\/a> at 26 Federal Plaza while escorting migrants from immigration hearings last June, ahead of the mayoral primary. No charges were filed then. Lander on Thursday said he thinks the arrests are an effort \u201cto intimidate people into not participating as part of that court watching, ICE watching movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a question about Goldman\u2019s suggestion his actions are political theater, Lander claimed he wasn\u2019t running for anything in September when he was arrested: \u201cWe were there to show up for our neighbors and the rule of law. This is much bigger than we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if the legal proceedings have been a distraction from his campaign, he said some of the most \u201cmeaningful work of the last year\u201d has been \u201cbeing part of a movement of Americans who are fighting back against the fascist White House and rogue ICE agents.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 A federal judge ruled Thursday that former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is not guilty of misdemeanor obstruction for blocking an elevator while protesting outside an immigrant holding area. Lander was hit with the obstruction charge last September while demonstrating in support of detained immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza in lower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}