De Blasio Defends His Daughter, Chiara, After Protest Arrest: 'I'm Proud Of Her That She Cares So Much'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his daughter on Monday, following her arrest during the protests over George Floyd's death.
Chiara de Blasio, 25, was arrested for unlawful assembly late Saturday night in Manhattan.
She was allegedly in the road with at least 100 other people and refused to leave when police ordered the crowd to move.
WATCH: Mayor De Blasio Discusses His Daughter's Arrest
"I love my daughter deeply, I honor her. She is such a good human being, she only wants to do good in the world, she wants to see a better and more peaceful world," the mayor said Monday. "She believes a lot of change is needed. I'm proud of her that she cares so much that she was willing to go out there and do something about it."
De Blasio was asked why he didn't publicly address the incident sooner. He said he knew his daughter had been protesting but did not know she was arrested until he was notified by the media.
"She recounted in tremendous detail to Chirlane (McCray) and I what happened, and she was very clear that she believes she was following the instructions of police officers and doing what they were asking," he said. "So I'm going to let her speak for herself about the details, but absolutely she was abundantly clear she was peacefully protesting, not doing anything that would provoke a negative response."
Chiara received a desk appearance ticket and was released Sunday morning.