Yesterday, during a protest in NYC, plainclothes NYPD officers grabbed a teenage trans woman and threw her into an unmarked van. Videos show men wearing shorts and T-shirts grabbing Nikki Stone, 18, and throwing her into a white Kia minivan. At no point is she shown a badge or warrant, told why she is being kidnapped, or read her rights.

None of the videos of the event make the NYPD look any better.

After videos of the "arrest" went viral and people questioned whether Trump's fascist goons had invaded the city, the NYPD confirmed that disappearing people is not limited to the feds — regular cops can do it, too!

According to the NYPD, they had a warrant for Stone's arrest because she had "damag[ed] police cameras." (They did not stop to tell her this as they kidnapped her.) The NYPD also appeared to try to justify the arrest by claiming that the protesters "assaulted" the NYPD thugs with rocks and bottles.

Let's go to the tape!

Yeah, looks like some lives were definitely at risk from that plastic Dasani bottle rolling towards their feet.

AOC and the ACLU weighed in yesterday.

As did several New York City Council members.

And the Manhattan borough president.

The mayor, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Despite calls for accountability, Bill de Blasio's initial reaction was to bury his head in the sand. As reported by Gothamist,

Asked about the incident, Mayor Bill de Blasio's deputy press secretary, Julia Arredondo, forwarded links to the NYPD's statement on Twitter. She did not respond to an inquiry about whether de Blasio had personally seen the video, or if this was an appropriate arrest of someone accused of criminal mischief.

Later Wednesday morning, he finally released a mealy-mouthed statement saying it had been "the wrong time and the wrong place to effectuate the arrest," but ultimately defending the officers.

"I want to affirm very clearly, no one is allowed to damage police property. That is a real offense, that is an offense that can lead to an arrest," said de Blasio. "There's lots of powerful ways to make an impact without damaging any property. If you damage property, it will lead to consequences."

After Stone was disappeared, the other protesters continued to Washington Square Park, where they were greeted by the NYPD with pepper spray and more arrests.

New York City Councilmember Carlina Rivera announced Wednesday morning that Stone had been released.

Stone has been charged with five counts of vandalism and "criminal mischief." So clearly she is a super violent criminal who needs to be ambushed by secret police while exercising her First Amendment rights.

While all eyes are on the federal goon squads in Portland and other cities, this is a great reminder that feds are not the only thugs in law enforcement.

[Gothamist]

Follow Jamie on Twitter!

Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons.

How often would you like to donate?

Just once Monthly

Select an amount (USD)

$2$25$5$50$10$100$15$500$20$1000