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Jewish NYC lawmaker Inna Vernikov arrested after carrying gun to pro-Palestinian protest
(New York Jewish Week) — Jewish New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested on Friday after appearing with a handgun outside a pro-Palestinian protest, as tensions flared in the city following Hamas’ devastating attack on Israel, and Israel’s military response in Gaza.
Vernikov, a Republican, attended the protest at Brooklyn College on Thursday afternoon to repudiate the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“There is a ton of police and we made sure that Jewish students feel safe,” she said in a video she posted from the scene to X, as protesters chanted “Free Palestine” behind her.
She also brought a gun, according to police and images from the scene that showed a gun tucked into her waistband. While Vernikov had a license to own a gun, guns are not permitted in “sensitive locations” in New York, including on college campuses and at protests.
One image was posted on social media by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a progressive group, which charged that Vernikov “brought a GUN to a rally to intimidate students” and used the hashtag #ExpelVernikov.
Police contacted Vernikov after the images circulated and she turned herself into the NYPD’s 70th precinct, where she was charged with criminal possession of a firearm. A protest is considered a “sensitive location” under New York firearms law, and criminal possession at such an event is a felony.
Vernikov surrendered her firearms license at the precinct and could face further consequences.
The New York City Council said in a statement that the incident was being investigated and “may require the recusal of committee members.”
The council said, “It is unacceptable and unlawful for a civilian to ever bring a firearm to a rally or protest, and especially important for elected officials to model a respect for the law that is expected of all New Yorkers.”
New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “New York’s gun safety laws apply to everyone.”
New York State Senator Julia Salazar said on X, “There is no excuse, none whatsoever, for an elected official to bring a firearm to a college campus in New York.”
Officially a licensed gun owner! pic.twitter.com/5W4GQYyXXb
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) September 5, 2023
Vernikov, a lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She posted on social media last month that she was officially a licensed gun owner, adding that she was going to bring the firearm “to as many places as I’m legally allowed to.” She also signaled that she was interested in a challenge to New York’s concealed carry law that seeks to widen the number of places where guns can be brought.
Vernikov, 39, is the City Council minority whip representing the 48th district in south Brooklyn and was elected to office in 2021. Born in what is today Ukraine, she represents parts of south Brooklyn with a significant Jewish population, including many immigrants from the former Soviet Union. She has been heavily involved in Jewish and pro-Israel causes, both as a city councilmember and before taking office.
Ahead of the protest, she released a statement urging caution due to the war but said the NYPD reported no credible threats of violence or terror in New York.
In a video posted from the rally, she described the demonstrators as “nothing short of terrorists, without the bombs.”
On Friday, as pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in Manhattan, Vernikov was silent on the issue. Instead, she tweeted prayers for people in Israel and thanks to those trying to help stranded Americans get home.
One of the first responses focused on her arrest. “There’s news being broadcast that you were arrested and charged with a felony for carrying your firearm near a school. A firearm that you had a Concealed Carry permit to carry. Is this true?” one commenter replied. “Do you have an attorney yet? Can we set up a fund to help you?”
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The post Jewish NYC lawmaker Inna Vernikov arrested after carrying gun to pro-Palestinian protest appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.