Guardian Angels apprehend suspect they claim is an illegal immigrant on live TV: 'You don’t belong in our country'

A recent episode of "Hannity" on Fox News took an unexpected turn when, during the live broadcast, members of the vigilante group Guardian Angels apprehended a man they insisted was a suspected "shoplifter" and an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

On Tuesday evening, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who unsuccessfully ran against Eric Adams for New York City mayor as a Republican in 2021, was chatting with eponymous host Sean Hannity about the problems illegal immigrants have caused in New York City on Adams' watch.

"This mayor doesn’t seem to get it," Sliwa claimed. "He takes care of the illegal aliens and forsakes his own people, especially the African-American poor and impoverished who elected him the mayor of the city of New York over me."

As the two men decried Adams' decision to furnish illegal immigrants in the city with prepaid debit cards, a scuffle involving some Guardian Angels began just outside the view of the camera in Times Square. As the camera panned toward the commotion, Guardian Angels, recognizable in their red berets and jackets, surrounded the individual and seemed to place him under a citizens' arrest.

Though the incident was ostensibly occurring in real time, Sliwa quickly offered key details about the man. "Our guys have just taken down one of the migrant guys right here on the corner of 42nd and 7th while all this is taking place," Sliwa told Hannity.

"He had been shoplifting," Sliwa claimed, but thanks to the intervention of the Guardian Angels, he was then "sucking concrete" following a criminal takedown so monumental that "his mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations."

Sliwa then returned to speaking about illegal immigrants more broadly. "We gotta take 42nd Street back, Sean. These illegals think they own this street; they think they rule the night," he said.

"This is our country. If they can't abide by the rules, then we’re gonna kick ’em back from where they came. You shoplift, you commit crime, you assault people, you don’t belong in our country, and we’re gonna make sure you pay a price for that.

"We gotta fight for what we know is right, and you saw a little bit of this," Sliwa continued. "They got a little bit of taste of what the Guardian Angels are gonna do to liberate Times Square from them."

Sliwa also told Hannity that the shoplifting suspect was headed to jail but that he would soon be released back onto the streets, likely referring to the reluctance of NYC judges to assess cash bail.

Police eventually became involved in the incident caught on camera, but statements from the NYPD give a much different version of events than the one shared by Sliwa. An NYPD spokesperson told the New York Post that officers arrived at the scene in connection with a "disorderly man" who allegedly "repeatedly attempted to interfere with and disrupt a live television interview."

The suspect was "detained by bystanders" and "issued a summons for disorderly conduct," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not state whether the man was an illegal immigrant or whether he was wanted in connection with a shoplifting incident.

The Post also noted that Sliwa, 69, has a history of exaggerating claims of criminal activity in NYC to convince New Yorkers of the need for vigilante groups like the Guardian Angels. More than 30 years ago, Sliwa admitted to fabricating six crimes that were staged to enhance his group's public profile.

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