Bill de Blasio Says His Daughter Was Acting Peacefully During Arrest in New York City Protest

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has spoken out about his daughter’s arrest during a protest in the city, saying that she was acting peacefully. On Saturday, Chiara de Blasio — the NYC mayor’s 25-year-old daughter — was arrested for “unlawful assembly.” According to a police report, officers were ordered to clear a Manhattan street due to people throwing things, but Chiara refused to leave.

In a statement, de Blasio said that he is “proud” of his daughter for caring “so much” for wanting “to see a better and more peaceful world” that she “was willing to go out there and do something about it.” The protest that Chiara was attending was one of countless that have emerged in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Video of Floyd being arrested by four Minneapolis police officers went viral and sparked widespread anger due to now-fired officer Derek Chauvin seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck before he died. Floyd pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, but eventually became unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead.

Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with both third-degree murder and manslaughter. Along with the mass peaceful protests that have sprung up across the nation, rioting and looting have also emerged, which has led to a more prominent police presence in many large cities. Notably, at a press conference regarding the protests happening in New York City, de Blasio praised police who showed “restraint” while patrolling the streets during the protests. However, he also criticized the actions of officers whom he believed to be showing “a callous disregard for fellow New Yorkers.”

“I didn’t like what I saw one bit,” the mayor said. “I never want to see something like that. I don’t want to see anything like that again.” He went on to say that he believes the city needs “to do a full investigation” into “the actions of those officers.” De Blasio stated that he wants to “see what was done, why it was done, how it could’ve been done differently.” The NYC mayor added, however, that he wanted to “emphasize that situation was created by a group of protesters blocking and surrounding a police vehicle.”