Republican Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested on Thursday after being discovered in possession of a firearm at a pro-Palestinian rally, sparking calls for her removal from office.
Vernikov, who is of Jewish descent and has been vocal against pro-Palestinian advocates, was present at a gathering of protesters held on the campus of CUNY's Brooklyn College on that Thursday.
According to police sources, Vernikov was observed with the butt of a handgun protruding from the front of her pants while monitoring the protest between noon and 2:45 p.m. She subsequently left the scene, and upon being notified, she willingly surrendered herself to the 70th Precinct along with her attorney around 2:50 a.m. on Friday.
The 39-year-old councilwoman was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, a violation of New York State law. She relinquished her firearm and firearm permit, receiving a desk appearance ticket without further processing.
Notably, no one was threatened or harmed as a result of her possession of the firearm during the earlier protest, as indicated by police sources. Despite holding a concealed carry permit, it remains illegal in New York State to carry a firearm at sensitive locations such as protests or school grounds.
Later, Vernikov posted a video of herself addressing the contentious protest on social media. In the post, she stated, "If you're standing with the protestors, yelling 'GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA' & 'FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE,' while innocent women and babies are being raped, massacred, and beheaded, you're a HAMAS supporter & apologist who would like to bring the terror here to rid the world of the Jewish people."
Although Vernikov's firearm was not visible in her own video, images and footage of the councilwoman with the handgun clearly visible in her pants quickly circulated on social media.
CUNY4Palestine, a Twitter account associated with Palestinian students and their allies, tweeted an image of Vernikov at the rally with the caption, "At today's rally on the Brooklyn College campus led by the students in their SJP chapter, Inna Vernikov showed up showcasing a gun to Palestinian students and their allies. These are the tactics of force and intimidation used by Zionist groups to silence any support for Palestine."
One attendee commented, "She should lose her job, and her gun license should be revoked."
