New York City Republican councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested Friday for possessing a firearm at a rally at Brooklyn College campus.
The rally was led by the institution’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, according to a post shared on Twitter, which appears to show Vernikov with the firearm. “These are the tactics of force and intimidation used by Zionist groups to silence any support for Palestine,” wrote CUNY4 Palestine, the group that shared the image. (RELATED: ‘Politically Necessary’: Student Org Plans ‘Day Of Resistance’ Event Celebrating Hamas Massacre)
At today’s rally on 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. pic.twitter.com/woQ6KGE1Gv
— CUNY4Palestine (@Cuny4P) October 12, 2023
Given the incident happened just days after Hamas terrorists invaded the Gaza Strip and massacred Jews and Israelis en mass, I’m not sure we could call the peaceful assembly of a Second Amendment-supporting Jewish woman a “tactic of force” compared to a group who launched an attack on an open-air music festival and slaughtered hundreds of people. But that’s just me.
Vernikov shared her own video of the rally where she rightfully pointed out that if “you’re standing w/ 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. We will never remain silent.”
At @BrooklynCollege rally this afternoon with @CMFarahLouis & @KalmanYeger. If you’re standing w/ 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… pic.twitter.com/7ESRAGrjtb
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) October 12, 2023
Vernikov turned herself in to the New York City Police Department’s 70th precinct in Brooklyn following the incident and also surrendered her gun license, according to Politico. She was charged with felony criminal possession of a firearm and subsequently released. While Vernikov was legally allowed to carry the weapon and had a concealed carry license, one NYC attorney argued she broke state law by possessing it at the rally. (RELATED: NYPD Orders All Cops Report In Uniform Amid Threats From Hamas)
Vernikov’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.