City Councilmember Inna Vernikov of Brooklyn was arrested early Friday morning and charged with bringing a gun to a pro-Palestinian protest at Brooklyn College.
Vernikov, who represents Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Midwood, was photographed with a gun strapped to her belt beside a large crowd of students, many of whom were draped in Palestinian flags on Thursday. Police said Friday the gun was a black Smith & Wesson 9mm.
NYPD officials contacted Vernikov after the protest, according to a spokesperson for the department. She turned herself in at 2:50 a.m. on Friday, police said. Vernikov was charged with criminal possession of a firearm.
According to several media outlets she has a concealed carry license and frequently poses with her gun in photos, but it is against state law to possess a firearm on a college campus.
Vernikov is Jewish and has been a vocal supporter of Israel. “If you are here today … you’re nothing short of a terrorist without the bombs,” Vernikov said in a video from the protest and posted on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
Vernikov did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
“New York’s gun safety laws apply to everyone,” Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X in response to the news of Vernikov’s arrest.
New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which took effect last year, bans gun owners from carrying their firearms in “sensitive” locations like health care centers, restaurants and Times Square.
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