'I'm proud of her' says de Blasio of daughter's arrest

Chiara de Blasio, the daughter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was arrested on Saturday night at a protest in Manhattan.

The 25-year old was arrested at about 10:30 p.m. after police declared the Lower Manhattan gathering an unlawful assembly. The group had reportedly been holding up traffic on Broadway and refused to move.

Chiara did not tell police that she was the mayor’s daughter, but did list her residence as Gracie Mansion, the mayor's residence.

One hour later, the mayor told protestors, “We appreciate and respect all peaceful protests, but now it is time for people to go home. If you went out peacefully to make a point about the need for change, you have been heard and change is coming in the city.”

The Sergeants Benevolent Association, the prominent New York Police Department union that has clashed with de Blasio repeatedly since his election, posted a picture of Chiara de Blasio’s arrest information to their Twitter on Sunday night. The tweet was flagged and removed by the social media platform, but reportedly read, “How can the NYPD protect the city of NY from rioting anarchist when the Mayors object throwing daughter is one of them.”

According to the arrest report, there was "yelling and screaming and unknown objects were being thrown in the direction of the police," at the scene. 

Mayor de Blasio has since spoken out about his daughter's arrest saying, "I love my daughter deeply, I honor her. I'm proud of her that she cares so much she was willing to go out there and do something about it."

He continued, "She was acting peacefully. She believes everything she did was in the spirit of peaceful, respectful protest ... I trust my daughter. She is an incredibly good human being."

The mayor also took issue with the actions of the Sergeants Benevolent Association in releasing his daughter's arrest report., "The SBA did something unconscionable. They do this all the time with people's privacy. They really should reevaluate what they are doing," said de Blasio. 

The NYC leader also acknowledged that he learned about his daughter's arrest via a media inquiry to his office, "If I had known that my daughter was arrested, I would have been the first to let the public know. I found out when my staff got the media inquiry."

Nearly 1,000 protestors were arrested in New York City this weekend.

Both the New York Police Department Commissioner and the mayor have dismissed the idea of imposing a curfew on New Yorkers.