LOWER MANHATTAN — Police have confirmed that Chiara de Blasio, the 25-year-old daughter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was arrested during Manhattan protests against police brutality over the weekend.
According to the NYPD, de Blasio’s daughter was arrested around 10:30 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Broadway and East 12th Street.
Chiara de Blasio is expected to be charged with unlawful assembly, police said.
At a press conference Monday morning, de Blasio commented on the arrest, saying his daughter did not inform him or his wife, Chirlane McCray, about her plans.
“I knew she believed in peaceful protest. I knew she had participated a few nights ago, but in a peaceful manner,” the mayor said.
He said he only found out about his daughter’s arrest when his office received a media inquiry about it. “If I had known my daughter was arrested I would’ve been the first to say something,” he said.
“I trust my daughter…she cares for other people,” de Blasio stated. “She believes she was following the instructions of the police officers.”
On Saturday, fires burned, windows got smashed and dangerous confrontations between demonstrators and officers flared amid crowds of thousands. That day began with mostly peaceful marches through Harlem and neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, but it descended into chaos as night fell.
Officers sprayed crowds with chemicals, and video showed two police cruisers lurching into a crowd of demonstrators, knocking several to the ground, after people threw objects at the vehicle.
Mayor de Blasio has said he had no plans to impose a curfew, unlike other major U.S. cities and smaller cities throughout the state.
He said police showed “tremendous restraint overall” but appointed two senior city officials to review how the protests were handled by the police.
