Embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams was supported by elderly civil rights leaders as New Yorkers choked him, shouting at him to resign after his corruption indictment.
The Democrat was flanked by respected black activists, including Hazel Dukes, 92, and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, 90, as he denied corruption and bribery charges against him on Thursday.
Dukes, a former NAACP leader, yelled at protesters who were choking her as she tried to speak in Adams’ defense outside Gracie Mansion.
‘Do you want to stay quiet?’ Dukes asked as the crowd chanted. ‘Will you shut up?’
Dukes continued: ‘I’m 92 years old. I have known this young man for over 40 years. I come today with a heavy heart but my head held high. “He will have his day in court and we will support him.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams received support from elderly civil rights leaders as New Yorkers screamed at him to resign following his corruption accusation.
People protest as New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters outside his official residence, Gracie Mansion, on Thursday.
Adams defiantly set out to show the support he enjoys from prominent black clergy and activists like Dukes, but protesters insisted the mayor’s legal issues have nothing to do with race.
“This is not a black thing, this is your thing, this is your thing, Eric Adams,” one protester shouted through a megaphone as Adams tried to speak.
The protester added: “Their policies are anti-black, they are a disgrace to all black people in this city.” The things you have done are excessive. Our children are harassed by the police. This is ridiculous, this is ridiculous.
‘You can silence me all you want, but the people are with us. “This is not something black, it is something about justice.”
Another protester told the mayor he should resign because he is a “disgrace.” Another called him “corrupt” and said he should be handcuffed.
Dukes, a former NAACP leader, screamed at protesters who were choking her as she tried to speak in Adams’ defense outside Gracie Mansion.
‘Do you want to stay quiet?’ Dukes asked as the crowd chanted. ‘Will you shut up?’
Adams vowed to continue his duties as mayor and urged New Yorkers to wait to pass judgment until he presents his defense.
‘It’s an unfortunate day. And it’s a painful day,” he said. “But within all of that there is a day when we will finally reveal why, for 10 months, I have been going through this. And I hope to defend myself.’
According to the indictment, Adams accepted tens of thousands of dollars in free flights and upgrades on Turkey’s national airline for himself and his companions, stays in luxury hotel suites, as well as other amenities such as a car with driver, boat tours, a Turkish bath trip in a seaside hotel and meals in high-end restaurants.
Adams failed to disclose his free and discounted travel, created a false paper trail to suggest he had paid for it, claimed an employee deleted his text messages, and ordered the employee to make sure his activities in Turkey in 2021 were protected. from public view. prosecutors alleged.
Another protester told the mayor he should resign because he is a “disgrace.” Another called him “corrupt” and said he should be handcuffed. A protester talks to law enforcement personnel and the media while demonstrating.
The mayor and his accomplices, not identified in the indictment, “continued their efforts to defeat scrutiny of their criminal conduct after they became aware of the federal investigation into those crimes,” the indictment says.
Last November, when FBI agents knocked on his door to execute a search warrant, Adams’ fundraiser called the mayor five times and Adams then called his phone as the agents left his residence, according to the indictment. The fundraiser refused to tell agents who paid for her trip to Türkiye in 2021, according to the indictment.
Adams was in Washington, DC at the time, but upon learning of the search, he canceled the meeting and immediately returned to New York City. A few days later, the FBI executed a search warrant for Adams’ electronic devices.
According to the indictment, Adams presented two cell phones, but not the personal cell phone he used in conjunction with his alleged crimes. Adams later turned over the phone in response to a subpoena, but it was locked and required a password that Adams claimed he had forgotten, according to the indictment.