Several illegal immigrants suspected of taking part in the assault on two NYPD officers were arrested by federal authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, after they were released without bail by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations made the arrests at a Greyhound bus station, a source told Fox News.
John Miller, the NYPD’s former commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, said last week the individuals involved in the assault were likely heading toward California.
ICE agents are working to determine if the migrants are any of the four men suspected to have hopped on a bus bound for California last Wednesday after they were freed without bail in the Jan. 28 attack near Times Square, according to law enforcement sources.
Investigators believe the four — Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24 — gave phony names to a church-affiliated nonprofit group that helps migrants get rides out of New York City, sources previously told The Post.
ICE agents were notified that the names of the migrants arrested Monday resembled those of the four men who fled the Big Apple — though it’s unclear if similarities applied to the aliases or their real identities, according to sources. (New York Post)
Bragg claimed in a statement on Saturday that he will present charges before a grand jury on Tuesday.
“We will not rest until every person who assaulted a police officer in this awful attack is held accountable,” he said.
A day earlier, Bragg had defended his decision to release the suspects.
"While the video is shocking and disturbing, in order to secure convictions in the court of law, it is essential that we conclusively identify each defendant," he said.
"In Manhattan, we don't tolerate or accept assaults on police officers," Bragg added. "I watched the tape this week. Despicable behavior. It sickened me and outraged me."
When asked to comment about the incident last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul argued the illegal immigrants involved in the assault should be found and deported.