A GOP councilwoman in New York City is being charged with illegal carrying of a firearm after she appeared Thursday with a gun in her waistband at a pro-Palestinian rally she had previously denounced.

39-year-old Ina Vernikov, of Ukrainian origin, expressed her displeasure many times over the pro-Palestinian demonstrations organized in New York after the deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. She even posted a video on the X platform that showed her being near a student demonstration at a University of Brooklyn. Vernikoff accused them in her post of supporting Hamas and wanting to “bring to New York the terror experienced by the Israeli people.”

But other videos and photos of her on social media sites show the handle of a gun sticking out of her pants. The New York police emphasized that “no one was threatened or injured”, but the city councilor was summoned for an explanation at a police station, where she appeared at night with her lawyer.

New York State allows gun ownership, but there are strict restrictions on carrying guns in public places.

Vernikoff was charged with “unlawful carrying of a firearm” and ordered to surrender her gun, a 9mm Smith & Wesson, as well as her gun license.

City authorities stepped up security in New York today as another pro-Palestinian demonstration is planned in Times Square, in the heart of Manhattan.