New York Attorney General Letitia James struck a defiant tone Monday during her first public appearance since being indicted on federal fraud charges related to her purchase of a home in Virginia.
The Democrat took the stage to thunderous and sustained applause and chants of “We love Tish” during a boisterous rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
James called on supporters to protect “every norm and every rule of law” as she vowed she “will not capitulate.”
“You come for me, you got to come though all of us!,” James roared, to loud cheers. “Every single one of us!”
The event, which also included remarks from New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud and the television personality and podcaster known as The Kid Mero, kicked off the final stretch of Mamdani’s campaign ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
The 33-year-old state lawmaker faces former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the race to succeed Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who abandoned his reelection bid in recent days.
Mamdani has been a vocal supporter of James, a longtime political nemesis of Trump. On Friday, he joined other local Democrats in denouncing the federal charges the city's former public advocate now faces, calling the indictment a “shameless act of political retribution" by Trump.
Last week, James was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution stemming from a house she bought in Norfolk, Virginia, for $137,000 in 2020.
Federal prosecutors say the mortgage James obtained for the purchase required the house to be primarily for her personal use for one year. They say James broke that rule by renting the house out to a family of three.