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Federal authorities weren't disclosing why the Sergeants Benevolent Association and Ed Mullins were targeted. An FBI spokeswoman said only that the bureau was "carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation."
Mullins, a department veteran of 39 years who took over as SBA president in 2002, was conspicuously silent on Tuesday. His attorney, Andrew Quinn, declined comment.
Mullins, who lives in Port Washington, NY, has become known for attacking NYPD leadership and Mayor Bill de Blasio on social media.
High-profile public defender Scott Hechinger called him an "overt racist who regularly promotes violence & hatred on the SBA Twitter account."
Those statements reportedly sparked an internal NYPD investigation.
Last year, the department cited Mullins for posting the arrest report of de Blasio’s daughter, Chiara, on social media following a Black Lives Matter protest.
At one point during the COVID pandemic, Mullins called the city’s health commissioner a "b*tch" who had “blood on her hands” during a dispute over N95 face masks.
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres took pleasure in spreading Tuesday's news.
“Ed Mullins, who famously called me a ‘first-class whore’ for daring to ask questions about the SBA, just got a first-class raid from the FBI,” Torres tweeted.
Although de Blasio said he "want(ed) to hear the details" before commenting, he labeled Mullins a "divisive voice" and said that "a lot of what he’s done has been really, really destructive — especially in the middle of a crisis where we’re trying to unify and we’re trying to get through together."
A native of Greenwich Village, Mullins heads a union that represents 11,000 members.
The group is politically vocal and last year endorsed Donald Trump, calling the November 2020 presidential election a "choice between world views that will have a very direct impact on police across the nation.”
Mullins also lauded Trump for supporting police officers “at a time when many other segments of society are abandoning or openly attacking us."
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