Inna Vernikov, a New York City Republican Council member, was arrested on Friday after she was seen carrying a gun while attending a Pro-Palestine protest this week, breaking state law.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed to Newsweek that Vernikov turned herself in at the NYPD's 70th Precinct in Brooklyn. The spokesperson told Newsweek that she was charged with criminal possession of a firearm.
The NYPD spokesperson added that after she turned herself in, Vernikov's gun, a "black Smith Wesson 9mm; for which she is licensed to possess and her permit license were surrendered."
"At no point in time was anyone menaced or injured as a result of her possessing the firearm at the earlier protest," the spokesperson said.
On Thursday, Vernikov was seen in images posted to social media that appeared to show her carrying a gun on her waist while at pro-Palestine protest near Brooklyn College.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, Vernikov showed herself at the protest and said, "I'm here at the pro-Hamas rally in Brooklyn College. There is a ton of police and we made sure that Jewish students feel safe today, but here they are, screaming and yelling 'intifada, globalize the intifada' when Jewish women, children, Holocaust survivors and babies are being beheaded, slaughtered and massacred. This is what they're doing, protesting, supporting Hamas."
Newsweek has reached out to Verkinov's office via email for comment.
The protest at the college came in response to ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas militants. On Saturday, Hamas militants executed a surprise attack on Israel, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) subsequently launching widespread airstrikes over the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is "at war" and cut off electricity and other supplies to Gaza. According to the Associated Press, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order to roughly 1 million Palestinian individuals living in Gaza ahead of a possible ground attack.
The ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas militants has resulted in over 2,700 casualties, the AP reported.
Under New York State law, it is illegal to carry a firearm at a "sensitive location" which includes "in or upon any building or grounds, owned or leased, of any educational institutions, colleges and universities, licensed private career schools, school districts, public schools," as well as "any gathering of individuals to collectively express their constitutional rights to protest or assemble."
Last month, Verkinov posted a photo on X, announcing that she was "officially a licensed gun owner!"
Prior to her decision to turn herself in on Friday, many social media users criticized Verkinov for carrying the gun at the protest.
"Here is another video and a photo. She should lose her job and the gun license taken away from her," X user Dalia wrote.
Here is another video and a photo. She should lose her job and the gun license taken away from her pic.twitter.com/EFETHHb0Hs
— Dalia (@DaliaNewYork) October 12, 2023
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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