Eric Adams' Indictment

Submission 2,610

Overview

Eric Adams' Indictment refers to discussions and memes about New York City mayor and former police officer Eric Adams being indicted on federal corruption charges on September 25th, 2024. The mayor, known for his "tough-on-crime" policies, was indicted after a federal probe revealed foreign influence on New York officials. Ironic memes in support of Eric Adams began making the rounds after his arrest, with many internet users drawing connections to other famously jailed criminals, including Sam Bankman-Fried and P. Diddy.

Background

Late on September 25th, 2024, New York City mayor Eric Adams was indicted by federal prosecutors after a months-long corruption probe into the city's officials. The indictment grew out of an investigation that began in 2021 by the F.B.I and federal prosecutors in Manhattan, carried out in relation to Adams possibly being influenced by the Turkish government.

In the months leading up to Adams's indictment, federal agents had seized the phones and electronics of some of the city government's highest-ranking officials, including the police commissioner, the schools chancellor, the first deputy mayor, the deputy mayor for public safety, and a senior adviser who has been sued four times this year for sexual harassment.^[1]

On September 25th, 2024, X^[2] user and reporter @molcranenewman posted a pre-recorded video showing a statement from Adams where he denies all charges brought against him, saying that they are "based on lies."

On September 25th, around 8 p.m. local time, Redditor /u/Yrrebbor made a post to /r/nyc,^[9] saying that there is a "rumor" going around that Eric Adams will be arrested "tomorrow." The post gathered over 2,000 upvotes in a day.

On September 25th, Redditor /u/adham7897 posted about the news to /r/politics,^[3] gathering over 13,000 upvotes in a day. /u/cyanclam posted the news to /r/news^[4] on the same day, gathering over 10,000 upvotes in a day.

Developments

The contents of Eric Adams' indictment were released on September 26th, showing that the mayor had a documented history of accepting favors from the Turkish government, including discounted flights with Turkish Airlines and luxury stays at Turkish hotels. The mayor was documented to repeatedly travel through Turkey in order to avail these perks.

X^[19] user @barry made a thread of highlights from the indictment, gathering over 11,000 likes in two days.

Many internet users also posted memes about Adams supposedly receiving a bulk shipment of Zyns as a bribe. The rumor originates from a September 26th post by X^[11] user Drew Pavlou, subsequently inspiring X^[12] user @LolOverruled to post an Another 20 Trillion meme and gather 8,000 likes in two days.

Online Reactions

Various internet users posted memes and jokes about Eric Adams potentially going to jail on corruption charges, with X users @TrueAnonPod^[5] and @midwesternlove^[6] posting memes on September 25th, 2024, expressing support for Adams ironically, gathering over 8,000 and 2,000 likes respectively.

On September 25th, X^[7] user @shdwbxng posted a meme about how Eric Adams might have reacted to the news about his indictment, given that he was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a reception with President Biden and other world leaders at the time.

Many internet users posted jokes about how Adams had awarded P. Diddy with a key to the city in September 2023, almost a year before his indictment. X^[8] user @its_kachi posted a photo of the two posing together, writing, "Puff & Eric Adams gotta recreate this picture with the key to their jail cell," gathering over 24,000 likes in a day.