New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said he is proud of his 25-year-old daughter for participating in weekend protests over the death of George Floyd after she was arrested along with other demonstrators.
“I love my daughter deeply, I honor her. She is such a good human being, she only wants to do good in the world, she wants to see a better and a more peaceful world. She believes a lot of change is needed,” de Blasio said during a press conference Monday after confirming reports that his daughter, Chiara de Blasio, was arrested.
“I’m proud of her that she cares so much and she was willing to go out there and do something about it,” the mayor added.
Chiara de Blasio was arrested at a Manhattan protest on Saturday night, The New York Post and WABC reported Sunday, citing local law enforcement sources, for allegedly blocking a street and refusing to move with other demonstrators.
Bill de Blasio said his daughter had not informed him or his wife, Chirlane McCray, about her “intention to get arrested,” but he knew she had participated in a “peaceful manner” a few nights before.
“She recounted the story in detail to me. She was acting peacefully. She believes that everything she did was in the spirit of peaceful respectful protest,” the mayor said. “And the bottom line is, I will let her speak for herself in any way she wants to, but I admire that she was out there trying to change something that she thought was unjust and doing it in a peaceful manner.”
Sometimes-violent protests have broken out in cities across the country in response to Floyd’s death last week while in the custody of Minneapolis police. In some states, curfews have been implemented and the National Guard has been called in to assist local authorities with their responses to the demonstrations.
An analysis of state police data from The Associated Press found that at least 4,400 arrests nationwide have been linked to the demonstrations.
A widely shared video of Floyd’s arrest last week showed an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he said he couldn’t breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers were fired from the department but have not been charged.