New York Attorney General Letitia James defiantly cried “I will not capitulate” Monday as she embraced her first public appearance since the Justice Department charged her with bank fraud.
AP reports the Democrat was greeted by applause as she took to the stage amidst chants of “We love Tish” during a rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
James warned of “powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent” and “weaponize justice for political gain,” though she stopped short of naming President Donald Trump, who had pushed for months for Justice Department officials to bring charges against her, the AP report notes.
“We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” James continued during her Monday public tirade, seeking to conflate her personal financial battle with one of broader human rights issues. “This, my friends, is a defining moment in our history.”
She rallied supporters to get behind her and 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, reportedly to loud cheers. “Every single one of us!”
The event kicked off the final stretch of Mamdani’s campaign ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
As Breitbart News reported, James – a longtime foe of President Donald Trump – 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.
James previously denied any wrongdoing while asserting a simple error was made when “filling out a form related to the home purchase but quickly rectified it and didn’t deceive the lender.”
AP reports James is expected to make her initial appearance in a federal court in Virginia on Oct. 24. If convicted of the felony charges, she would automatically relinquish her office under New York law.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
