The Guardian Angels made a citizen’s arrest Tuesday live on Fox News while leader Curtis Sliwa blasted Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams for “destroying” the city.
Sliwa and his team appeared on “Hannity” to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis affecting local residents. During Sliwa’s interview with Fox host Sean Hannity, Guardian Angels members could be seen walking off camera towards what appeared to be a man in a hooded jacket. As the Guardian Angels circled around him, the camera caught the team pinning the guy to the ground.
Following the citizen’s arrest, Hannity asked what had happened during the incident, to which Sliwa claimed that the person they caught had allegedly been shoplifting. The leader stated that the alleged criminal “resisted,” but the cops eventually “dragged him off the asphalt” and took him “to jail.” (RELATED: ‘Americans Before Illegals’: Curtis Sliwa Slams Surge Of Migrants In New York City)
“[This] boy had been shoplifting first. The guardian angels spotted him, stopped him — he resisted. Let’s just say we gave him a little pain compliance. His mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations. He is sucking concrete. The cops dragged him off the asphalt. He’s on his way to jail, but they’ll cut him loose,” Sliwa stated.
Sliwa continued to emphasize that New Yorkers needed to “take 42nd street back,” before Hannity jumped in to state that he’s witnessed how New York Police Department (NYPD) officers appreciate the support from the Guardian Angels. While Sliwa agreed with Hannity, he stated that officials have been told “hands-off.” Sliwa said his the team will continue to “fight” for what “is right.” (RELATED: Video Appears To Show Illegal Migrant Gang Members Dragging Woman From Moped: REPORT)
“We’ve got to take 42nd street back, Sean. These illegals think they own this street. They think they rule the night. This is our country. If they can’t abide by the rules, then we’re going to kick them back from where they came,” Sliwa stated.
“But unfortunately they’ve [NYPD] been told hands-off. Well, guess what? We don’t keep our hands off. You shoplift, you commit crime, you assault people, you don’t belong in our country. We are going to make sure you pay a price for that. We’ve got to fight for what we know is right. You saw a little bit of this. They got a little bit of a taste of what the Guardian Angels are going to do to liberate Times Square from them.”
Prior to the citizen’s arrest, Sliwa had been criticizing Adams over the increase in illegal migrants, blaming him for “single-handedly” destroying NYC. The former New York City GOP mayoral candidate called out Adams’ policies regarding housing illegal migrants, claiming that they get “more money than” any local veteran, homeless or emotionally disturbed person.
“In fact, that’s why I am his number one hater. Join the Curtis Sliwa hater club of Eric Adams who has single-handedly destroyed this city by giving illegal aliens everything. They arrive in our city, imagine, you check into your hotel and get concierge service and then you get a $1000 debit card that you can use for the whole month,” Sliwa stated.
“And you get more money than any veteran, any homeless person, any emotionally disturbed person in New York City gets. That’s an absolute outrage. This mayor just doesn’t seem to get it. He takes care of the illegal aliens and forsakes his own people. Especially the African American, poor, and impoverished who elected him mayor of the city of New York over me Curtis Sliwa.”
New York City has experienced a slew of issues following the influx of illegal immigrants pouring in. Adams’ administration recently announced that there would be a $53 million taxpayer-funded program for migrants housed at the Roosevelt Hotel, giving them prepaid credit cards.
Since the incident, Hannity noted at the end of his show Thursday that while Sliwa claimed the man had been a migrant shoplifting, confirmation from an NYPD official denied the allegations. Officials confirmed to the Fox host that the man who the Guardian Angels had performed a citizens arrest on was given a “summons for disorderly conduct.”
Sliwa posted a statement on Twitter to “apologize for miss characterizing [sic] the man’s citizenship status” and explained the moments leading to the incident. Sliwa stated that while recording the segment for Hannity, three males allegedly provoked the Guardian Angles and the film crew, claiming one of the men became “belligerent and emotional, aggressively pushing through the crew and crows.”
In response, Sliwa said one of the group’s female members attempted to calm the man down. However, Sliwa claims that the man “ended up putting his hands” on the female. The Guardian Angel leader continued to state that the group would never “have provoked an attach based on who someone is or where they came from.”
“I apologize for miss characterizing [sic] the man’s citizenship status, misunderstanding what had caused Guardian Angels to step in. No Guardian Angel, a majority minority organization, would ever have provoked an attack based on who someone is or where they came from,” Sliwa posted.
“They responded to a man intentionally being disruptive, aggressive towards film crew members, the crowd and unfortunately put his hands on a female. The organization and its members would not stand by when someone has hurt a woman, while creating an unsafe situation for all.”
This story has been updated to include a statement from Curtis Sliwa and a New York City Police Department official regarding the arrestee.