Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is facing backlash after calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to be arrested and sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay over the mayor’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tuberville made the remarks after Mamdani released a video explaining that New York City does not have the legal authority to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Netanyahu, despite previously saying during his campaign that he wanted the warrant carried out if the Israeli leader visited the city.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said. “The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
Mamdani didn’t stop there.
“I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he added, referring to Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu denies the allegations, and Israel rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction.
The comments immediately ignited outrage from Republicans and other outspoken supporters of Netanyahu.
Tuberville responded by saying Mamdani should be arrested and sent to Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military detention facility that has long been criticized by human rights organizations over its treatment of detainees.
He wasn’t alone.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) called Mamdani an “apologist for terrorists” and argued that the New York mayor should be stripped of his U.S. citizenship and deported. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2012.
Calls to revoke Mamdani’s citizenship have become a recurring theme on the political right. Last year, President Donald Trump also threatened to strip Mamdani of his citizenship after the mayor said he would not cooperate with expanded federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) accused Jewish voters who supported Mamdani of being “self-loathing” and suggested the mayor bore responsibility for crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) criticized Mamdani during a Fox News appearance, suggesting the mayor opposed Netanyahu because the Israeli leader had “killed a lot of people” Mamdani admired—a comment widely interpreted as implying sympathy for terrorist organizations.
Trump also weighed in, declaring on Truth Social that “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Instead, Trump argued that Netanyahu should be protected because of Israel’s role in confronting Iran, adding that “the only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.”
The United States is not a member of the ICC, and the Trump administration has given no indication it would ever seek to enforce the court’s warrant against Netanyahu.
Watch Tuberville’s remarks below:
Senator Tommy Tuberville Finally SNAPS On Mayor Mamdani, Demands He Is Dragged to GITMO in HANDCUFFS
"He's not some type of warlord, Muslim dictator, okay?"
"Sooner or later, he will do something more stupid than what he's done to where we'll finally say enough's enough, go… pic.twitter.com/9vQ3Mu5yBj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 23, 2026
