Summary

  • New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing five criminal charges, including wire fraud, bribery and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations

  • Prosecutors allege Adams's corruption conspiracy had been "long-running", dating back to 2018, and say he received over $100,000 in illegal personal benefits

  • "I look forward to defending myself," Adams says, adding "I follow the law"

  • Adams, a former police officer, was elected nearly three years ago with a promise to rein in crime

'Resign, resign, resign,' hecklers chant at Adams

Live Reporting

Edited by Sam Hancock, with Madeline Halpert and Nada Tawfik reporting from New York

  1. Police search New York mayor's mansion

    Police pictured outside the home of New York City Mayor Eric AdamsGetty Images

    Federal agents search inside Gracie Mansion, Eric Adams's official New York City residence

    Police pictured outside the home of New York City Mayor Eric AdamsGetty Images
    Police pictured outside the home of New York City Mayor Eric AdamsGetty Images

  2. Watch: FBI enter Adam's home after indictment

    As we've been reporting, FBI agents carried out a search of New York Mayor Eric Adam's residence earlier following his indictment on as yet unknown charges.

    The BBC has since learned that the mayor's phone was seized after entering Gracie Mansion.

    Watch: Officials enter New York City mayor's home

  3. Adams strikes defiant tone in wake of resignation calls

    Nada Tawfik
    Reporting from New York

    Eric Adams is the first mayor in New York City history to be charged while in office.

    In a video statement on Wednesday night, he struck a defiant tone, saying he believes the government intends to charge him with crimes that are based on "lies".

    He said he would fight them with "every ounce of (his) strength and spirit".

    Elected in 2021 on a promise to reduce crime, the retired police captain is facing a surge of calls to resign from elected officials.

    He has previously rejected doing so.

    There have been several federal probes into his inner circle, with the FBI seizing his electronic devices and raiding the home of his top campaign fundraiser.

    Overnight, reporters camped outside of the official mayoral residence in Manhattan. While Adams isn’t required to step down, New York's governor governor does have the ability to remove him from office.

  4. Waiting outside New York court

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from New York

    It's a foggy, rainy morning here in New York where a little over a dozen reporters are waiting outside the federal courthouse.

    We're hoping to hear an update from prosecutors on the charges against Adams as well as the actual indictment.

    Photographers are lining the nearby surroundings, hoping to snap a picture of Adams if he is brought in.

    The Southern District of New York court declined to comment to the BBC about when the New York mayor might appear here.

  5. Adams's lawyer says his phone was seized this morning

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from New York

    I'm in federal court in New York, where we're expecting charges against Mayor Eric Adams to be unsealed today.

    Adams's lawyer Alex Spiro told the BBC this morning that federal agents searched his Gracie Mansion official residence and seized his phone.

    Spiro said a dozen agents came to collect the phone.

    Adams "has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court", he added.

  6. Who is Eric Adams?

    Eric Adams photographed at a press conferenceGetty Images

    Eric Adams, the first-term mayor of New York City, was elected in 2021.

    Prior to becoming the top local official in America’s most populous city, he spent over two decades working for the New York City Police Department.

    The federal indictment against Adams has now turned him into a criminal defendant, making him the first sitting mayor to be charged in New York City history.

    Adams, a life-long New Yorker, was raised in the Queens borough by a single mom along with his five siblings.

    Throughout his political career, he has often pointed to the adversity he faced in his upbringing as a way to relate to the struggles of everyday New Yorkers.

    As mayor, he has taken a tough-on-crime stance, including a move to reintroduce a controversial unit of plain-clothes police officers to New York City streets.

  7. FBI raids NYC mayor's home as federal charges loom

    Marita Moloney
    Reporting from Washington DC

    Welcome to our live coverage as we wait to hear what federal charges New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing.

    Investigators have been searching Gracie Mansion, this mayor's official residence, hours before prosecutors are expected to reveal details of the indictment.

    Adams, elected three years ago, and a string of top officials around him have faced growing scrutiny as part of multiple federal corruption probes, including whether his campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey.

    We're expecting to get the exact charges soon when the indictment is unsealed.

    The mayor, who has vowed to fight the charges and remain in office, is also due in court shortly.

    Our reporter Madeline Halpert in New York will be at court and we'll bring you all the latest details as we get them.