Bill de Blasio says he didn't know his daughter was arrested at a protest until the media asked

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's daughter was arrested protesting in New York over the weekend — and when journalists had questions, they apparently broke the news to him.

The mayor in a press conference on Monday fielded a question about his daughter, Chiara de Blasio, being arrested on Saturday during a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd, with a reporter asking why he didn't immediately inform the public that this happened. The reason, de Blasio said? He didn't know about it.

"If I had known that my daughter was arrested, I would have been the first to let the public know," he said. "I found out when my staff got a media inquiry. ... I have a 25-year-old adult daughter who lives her own life, chooses to share information with me if she deems to, but not something that's a guarantee when you're dealing with an adult child."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

De Blasio went on to say he was aware his daughter was protesting but he "never heard from her after that" about being arrested, and "the only reason I found out" about the arrest was the media inquiry, at which point he reached out to her to find out what happened, not even knowing at this point "if it meant in real time, or it happened previously."

Having since received the details, de Blasio defended his daughter, saying she was "peacefully protesting" and "not doing anything that would provoke a negative response." He also blasted the New York Police Department sergeants' union that tweeted out Chiara's arrest report, calling this "unconscionable" and "absolutely inappropriate." Brendan Morrow