Why NYC detained protesters but says it can’t execute Netanyahu’s ICC warrant
NYPD cited a blocked intersection. New York City says it lacks authority to execute the ICC warrant against Netanyahu.
On September 24, 2026, police detained Susan Sarandon and other demonstrators near the United Nations during a protest against Netanyahu. The NYPD told The Guardian that protesters blocked an intersection, received warnings to leave, and continued blocking it. NBC New York reported that everyone taken into custody at the protest was later released.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024. A warrant is not a conviction: the court said there were reasonable grounds to believe he was responsible for alleged crimes.
Why didn’t New York City execute the warrant?
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said a city legal review found that New York City did not have authority to execute it. He said the federal government could act and called on it to do so. The U.S. Justice Department says the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and will not cooperate with ICC proceedings. That is the U.S. government’s position, not a court ruling cancelling Netanyahu’s warrant.
The two actions used different legal tracks: local police powers over a blocked intersection, and an international court warrant that raises a separate question of government cooperation. That explains why the outcomes differed. It does not make the broader fairness argument disappear.
As of September 27, 2026. The NYPD’s account is reported by The Guardian. The ICC warrant is not a conviction; the U.S. government says it will not cooperate with the Court and rejects its authority over U.S. persons.
Sources: The Guardian · NBC New York · NYC Mayor’s Office · ICC · U.S. Justice Department