Fetterman Is Correct: Mamdani Is a Clown for Recklessly Saying He Would Try to Arrest Netanyahu – But There Is More to It

In a political climate desperate for serious leadership, Mayor Mamdani’s declaration that he is exploring municipal authority to detain Prime Minister Netanyahu, a visiting head of state, is an embarrassing stunt that collapses under the weight of basic constitutional, statutory and international law. Fetterman’s sharp rebuke on Fox News – telling the mayor to “sit down” and focus on New York’s internal struggles – was a necessary reality check against the left’s performative foreign policy theater.

But Mamdani’s antics have moved things from the realm of political theater into dangerous legal fiction. The mayor seems prepared to manipulate the law in the name of his anti-Israel agenda rather than objectively enforce it, and puts out the notion that Netanyahu is an international fugitive.

In fact, no objective observer could conclude that a local municipality has the independent authority to detain a foreign leader. To be sure, advocates for the proposition that municipalities do have the authority to enforce warrants issued by the International Criminal Court rely on the local police power – the inherent, sovereign authority delegated by the state to protect the health, safety, peace, and public order of the community.

And, so, the argument goes, the presence of an internationally accused war criminal within the densely populated metropolis of New York City poses an immediate threat to public order. It risks massive civil unrest, gridlock, severe security hazards and public safety breakdowns that stretch NYPD resources to their limits.

Pretty flimsy stuff, but it gets worse for the Mamdani position.

The foundation of the American legal system is the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which establishes that federal law and treaties are the “supreme Law of the Land.” And foreign relations are, by constitutional design, the exclusive domain of the federal government. The Supreme Court has consistently held that states and municipalities cannot interfere with the federal government’s conduct of foreign policy. An arrest of a foreign head of state by local police would be a direct intrusion into federal authority that would immediately be struck down by any federal court.

In addition, the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute – the foundational document of the ICC, which relies on its members for enforcement of its mandates, and the U.S. also does not recognize ICC standing to issue mandates that American law enforcement – federal, state or local – is bound to respect. For a local mayor to treat an ICC warrant as a binding legal document would be to prioritize the authority of an international tribunal over the sovereignty of the United States.

Any doubt regarding the legality of cooperating with the ICC was settled by Congress with the passage of the American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA) in 2002. ASPA explicitly restricts U.S. government support and assistance to the ICC. It prohibits federal, state and local government from cooperating with ICC investigations or executing ICC requests.

Furthermore, the UN Headquarters Agreement of 1947 establishes the legal framework for the presence of foreign representatives at the United Nations in New York. Under this agreement, the United States is obligated to provide safe passage and immunity from arrest for foreign representatives traveling to the UN to conduct their official business. This is an international obligation undertaken by the federal government, which – under the Supremacy Clause – binds every state and municipality in the nation. A local arrest would not only be a violation of this treaty but would also expose the United States to severe diplomatic fallout and breach its international commitments.

While Sen. Fetterman is correct that Mayor Mamdani’s proposed Netanyahu caper deserves to be ridiculed, it should not be lost that it also betrays his sinister side. A true public servant would not try to subvert the law for personal ends. Yet this mayor seems ready and willing to do so, even flying in the face of the law. Where are Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries?