Covering politicians getting themselves performatively arrested these days is not unlike watching an outbreak: first one patient, then another, until the whole town is infected. And as is the case with their outbreak coverage, the media are excessively hyping these performative arrests. Case in point: ABC World News Tonight as they covered the stunt arrest of New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who attempted to obstruct ICE from arresting an illegal alien that he was escorting to and from immigration court. Here is that report in its entirety: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 6/17/25 6:37 PM DAVID MUIR: Now to the dramatic scene in New York City. A candidate for mayor detained by ICE agents inside immigration court. Agents handcuffing him and taking him away. Here's Aaron Katersky. BRAD LANDER: Do you have a judicial warrant? Do you have a judicial warrant? AARON KATERSKY: Tonight, one week before the primary in the race for New York City's mayor, the dramatic scene involving one of the candidates inside immigration court. LANDER: Where is it? Where is the warrant? KATERSKY: ICE Agents pulling Brad Lander, an elected official and Democratic candidate for mayor, through a hallway. Pushing him against the wall, locking him in handcuffs. LANDER: You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens. You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens. I'm not obstructing, I'm standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant. KATERSKY: Lander had linked arms with a migrant officers were trying to arrest, prying the two men apart. Homeland Security officials accused Lander of assault, and impeding a federal officer. Federal prosecutors said they are investigating but late today, Lander walking out free. ICE said you assaulted an officer. LANDER: I mean, you guys all saw it on video, so, you know exactly what happened, and probably on advice of counsel, I will not characterize the events, but I certainly did not assault an officer. KATERSKY: It comes days after a United States senator was detained in California. ICE: Hands up, hands up. ALEX PADILLA I'm senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary. KRISTI NOEM: Also, I want to talk -- KATERSKY: Senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from a press conference as he tried to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about ICE arrests in Los Angeles. Today, Padilla emotional.  PADILLA: I was forced to the ground. KATERSKY: In his first speech on the Senate floor, and issuing this warning: PADILLA: What's happening is not just a threat to California, it's a threat to everyone in every state. KATERSKY: These public officials are being detained, David, during an uptick in ICE arrests in immigration courts around the country. David. MUIR: Aaron Katersky with us again tonight. Aaron, thank you. First off, you’ll note that although Katresky begins his narration of Landers’ arrest with the arm linking, the video shown by ABC omits that. Unless viewers also saw the original video of the arrest, there is the potential for confusion.This is by design. Compare this video featuring the full arrest in its context with what you saw on ABC.                                                                This sleight of hand allows for an easier establishment of a persecution narrative, particularly as ICE prepares to conduct more raids in cities like New York. Then there is the matter of Padilla. Katersky runs the comparison to Padilla’s Los Angeles crashout, attempting to establish parallels between the two. Padilla showed up to the Senate floor and delivered his emotional remarks. Katersky closes out the report by linking the arrests to an “uptick in ICE arrests in immigration courts.” It sounds nice, but that’s not what happened. Lander got arrested for obstructing an arrest, and Padilla got busted for trying to crash a press conference in order to ask questions without first identifying himself. Once again, ABC gaslights its public: this time, in order to further fuel anti-ICE sentiment by casting these arrested politicians as Resistance martyrs. Buyer beware.