New York Attorney General Letitia James spoke publicly for the first time since her federal indictment at a campaign rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Monday. James has been indicted on mortgage fraud charges, which she denies, after President Trump called for his political enemies to be jailed. She’s being prosecuted by Trump’s hand-picked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, after Trump forced out the previous Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for refusing to bring charges. At the rally, Mamdani and James presented a united front against President Trump, warning about the threat he poses to democracy.

Attorney General Letitia James: “We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government. This, my friends, is a defining moment in our history. Let us stand together to defend our rights, to protect every safeguard, every institution, every immigrant.”

Zohran Mamdani: “We are an existential threat to billionaires who think their money can buy our democracy. We are an existential threat to a broken status quo that buries the voices of working people beneath corporations. And we are an existential threat to a New York where a hard day’s work isn’t enough to earn you a good night’s rest.”