REUTERS/Eric Lee
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin gave his own account of conversations he and President Trump had with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani regarding the ICE shooting in Marble Hill on Thursday night. That account, however, raised more questions than answers.
During a press conference Friday morning, Mullin claimed Trump offered to transfer Oscar Bergal, the man whom ICE agents shot just after 4 p.m. on Oct. 8 with a 5-year-old child inside his vehicle during an arrest attempt, into NYPD custody if the city would pursue charges against him.
“President Trump actually got involved and said that we would release him to New York’s finest,” Mullin said. “If NYPD wants to take the charges and pursue the charges, we’ll be happy to release him into the custody of NYPD.” Mullin did not specify what charges he was referring to.
Mullin claimed he relayed that offer to Mamdani and that the mayor responded, “We will not be detaining him.”
Bergal has an existing criminal record in New York. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday night that he had been arrested for robbery in 2023 in a case that resulted in a guilty plea to fourth-degree grand larceny and five years’ probation. He also has a pending 2025 case for criminal sale of a controlled substance.
But on Friday, Mullin did not specify whether he was referring to either of those cases, potential new charges stemming from Thursday’s confrontation, or something else.
City Hall has been...
REUTERS/Eric Lee U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin gave his own account of conversations he and President Trump had with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani regarding the IC...