New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ first press conference after being indicted on federal charges was interrupted by a heckler calling the former police officer a “disgrace” to the Black community.
“This is not a Black thing, this is a you thing,” the man cried through a bullhorn, just as Adams appeared outside of his Gracie Mansion residence.
“This is a you thing, Eric Adams,” he continued. “This is not a Black thing. Your policies are anti-Black, you’re a disgrace for all Black people in this city. The things that you have done are unconscionable. Our children are harassed by police. This is ridiculous, this is ridiculous. You can shush me all you want, but the people are with us. This is not a Black thing, this is a justice thing.”
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Adams faces charges of wire fraud and bribery, among others, in connection to illegal campaign gifts from the Turkish government, which prosecutors say included plane tickets, hotel rooms, and meals—with a value totaling more than $100,000.
“This was a multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference. “Year after year, he kept the public in the dark.”
Williams said that Adams tried to conceal the gifts, but it was a “clumsy coverup.”
Prosecutors claim that in exchange for the gifts, Adams pressured New York Fire Department officials to allow the construction of a new Turkish consulate despite safety concerns.
The investigation began in 2021, although prosecutors say Adams received improper gifts as early as 2014, when he was a top official in Brooklyn.
Adams has said, despite calls for his resignation, he will remain in office. He is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be criminally charged.
At Thursday’s conference—when he could speak over the frequent interruptions of hecklers—Adams urged the public to withhold their judgment.
“I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense,” he said.
He has insisted that he's being targeted for fighting against injustice.
“We expected this,” Adams said. “This is not surprising to us at all.
“The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months with leaks, commentary, the demonizing — this did not surprise us that we reached this day,” he said.
