New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he is “proud” of his daughter after it emerged that she was arrested at a protest in Manhattan at the weekend for reportedly blocking traffic and refusing to disperse.
“I am proud of her that she cares so much and is willing to do something about it,” De Blasio told reporters during a Monday press conference. He said he had asked her to recount the whole story and that she assured him she was “acting peacefully.”
“She believes everything she did was in the spirit of peaceful, respectful protest,” he said, later adding: “I admire that she was out there trying to change something that she thought was unjust.”
De Blasio also confirmed that his daughter did not inform his or his wife “of her intention to get arrested.” It’s not entirely clear if this was clumsy wording on the mayor’s part or if his daughter actually had an “intention” to get arrested at the protest.
He also said the fact that her arrest was leaked was “inappropriate” and blamed it on police union sources.
Chiara de Blasio was detained on Saturday during what police declared an unlawful assembly in Lower Manhattan. She was cuffed at an area that was a “hotspot” for violence between cops and demonstrators protesting over the killing of George Floyd, a police source told the New York Post.
Demonstrations have gripped New York and other US cities for days following the disturbing police killing. Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter five days later, but some of the protests have since turned violent, morphing into opportunities for people to loot and vandalize shops and businesses.
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