NYC council member who carried a gun at rally will not face charges

A Brooklyn councilwoman arrested last month after carrying a gun to a pro-Palestinian rally at Brooklyn College has had charges against her dismissed after the weapon was found to be unloaded and inoperable.

The affair began on October 12, five days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel. Councilor Inna Vernikov, a conservative Republican, attended the demonstration as a counter-protester livestreamed her criticism.

She suggested that those at the meeting were Hamas supporters who were “downright terrorists without the bombs” and footage would soon emerge spread on social media on which Mrs. Vernikov carries a pistol with the butt sticking out of her waistband.

While Ms. Vernikov had a permit for the gun — a Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter pistol — she soon turned herself and the gun in and was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, police officials said at the time.

In New York State, openly carrying a firearm is not allowedand a law was passed last year expressly prohibits the carrying of weapons in so-called sensitive locations, a long list that includes “gatherings of people to collectively express their constitutional rights to assemble or protest.”

In a statement on Friday, prosecutors appeared to want to strike a balance between First Amendment rights and gun control goals.

“Peaceful protest is the right of every American, but bringing a gun to a protest is illegal and creates an unacceptable risk of harm that has no place in our city,” said Orin Yaniv, spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Eric Gonzalez. He added that the gun was not loaded and a piece was missing, rendering it unusable.

“To sustain this charge, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the weapon in question was capable of firing bullets,” he said. “In the absence of such evidence, we have no choice but to dismiss these charges.”

Mrs. Vernikovrepresenting, among other things, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay in southern Brooklyn, was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second term in Novemberweeks after the indictment.

Arthur L. Aidala, an attorney who represented the council member before her arraignmentsaid Ms Vernikov “has an excellent reputation in her constituency” and will “continue” her service for the remaining two years.

“She is glad this is all behind her and looks forward to continuing her fight on behalf of all New Yorkers,” he said.

Ms. Vernikov herself had no immediate comment on the charges being dropped, according to her district office.

In her online biography, the counsel is identified as a Ukrainian-born attorney focused on combating “rising crime, unreasonable mandates and the recent migrant crisis.” She also calls herself “a leading voice against anti-Semitism; making waves by bringing stories of anti-Semitic attacks to the national and international stage.”

Ms. Vernikov’s arrest brought condemnation from several groups and some calls for her resignation, including from the New York Working Families Party, a liberal political group that said that “armed intimidation has no place in our city, let alone in near a place of violence”. learning.”