Mamdani’s Netanyahu Threats May Have Broken The Law, NY Rep Says

A Brooklyn, New York, state assemblyman is calling on New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate whether New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani broke the law by threatening to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to the U.N. General Assembly.

In a scathing letter to the state’s top prosecutor, Democrat state Assembly Member Simcha Eichenstein warned that Mamdani’s anti-Israel grandstanding crosses the line from political posturing into potential criminal official misconduct. Under New York law, mayors cannot simply order local police to arrest individuals without a judge-issued warrant or local probable cause. Because the U.S. does not recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC), and visiting heads of state enjoy absolute diplomatic immunity, Eichenstein argued that pressuring the NYPD to carry out an illegal arrest abuses executive power and threatens the independence of law enforcement.

“While elected officials possess the right to express their personal opinions, a public official cannot attempt to leverage their executive authority to direct local law enforcement actions against an individual based on personal, political, or ideological views,” Eichenstein wrote. “Furthermore, because the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), nor does it recognize the ICC, any ICC warrants carry no legal jurisdiction within the United States of America. … Under New York Penal Law § 195.00, a public servant who knowingly performs an unauthorized act, and misuses their official position to pressure law enforcement into making an arrest, may be guilty of official misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor.”

????Today, I asked Attorney General Letitia James to review if NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's actions ordering a city agency to explore arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violates NY state law. New York’s Criminal Procedure Law prohibits mayors from meddling with or… pic.twitter.com/SBWlsWNEbv

— Simcha Eichenstein (@SEichenstein) July 20, 2026

“It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu or any visiting foreign head of state,” CNN’s Elie Honig pointed out. “First of all, the mayor of New York City has zero law enforcement authority. He does not tell the Manhattan D.A., the NYPD, who to arrest, who to indict. … This warrant that we’re talking about here was issued by the ICC, the International Criminal Court, which we are not signatories to here in the United States. So, that warrant, issued by the ICC, has zero legal effect here in the United States.”

Mamdani, however, remained unrepentant. He doubled down in recent comments, claiming his legal team is actively exploring the city’s legal authority to potentially execute the ICC’s warrant when Netanyahu arrives in Manhattan.

President Trump declared that Netanyahu will not be arrested “in any way, shape, or form,” while Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman bluntly dismissed the mayor’s stunt as “clown” behavior. Local Jewish leaders and Israeli diplomats also slammed Mamdani, warning that his demagoguery actively fuels antisemitic hatred on New York streets.

Mamdani’s political theater looks even more absurd given the explosive scandal corrupting the tribunal he purports to enforce. The ICC faced severe backlash following shocking allegations that its then-chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was promised protection by Qatar, which has hosted and funded Hamas, in exchange for pursuing warrants against Israeli leaders.

Reports reveal that Khan rushed the indictments just as serious sexual misconduct allegations involving a subordinate began to surface against him. Investigators probed audio recordings and evidence of a Qatar-linked intelligence operation designed to discredit Khan’s accuser by prying into her family background and attempting to tie her to Israeli intelligence. Khan allegedly used the pending Israeli warrants to pressure his accuser into silence, claiming any public scandal would undermine the tribunal’s cases.

Legal scholars have argued these revelations prove the ICC is not an impartial judicial body, but an unaccountable political tool easily co-opted by hostile states.