Newly released Metropolitan Transportation Authority police body camera footage shows television personality Sunny Hostin repeatedly invoking her credentials as a former federal prosecutor during a June 16 encounter with officers who had stopped her son for trespassing on Metro-North railroad property in New Rochelle, New York.
The video, obtained by Fox News Digital, documents an exchange in which Hostin emphasizes her professional background and her son's educational pedigree — Harvard graduate, no criminal record, teaches geometry to South Bronx fourth-graders — while requesting that officers exercise discretion in the case.
"My name is Sunny Hostin and I'm one of the co-hosts of 'The View' and I'm a former federal prosecutor," Hostin states over the phone to an officer before arriving at the scene. The same framing appears repeatedly in her subsequent in-person interactions with police.
Gabriel Hostin, 23, was observed by MTA police near the electrified third rail at the New Rochelle station at approximately 7:45 p.m. Officers conducted a criminal background check, found nothing, and issued him a summons for trespassing rather than making an arrest. He was released from the scene.
According to charging documents, officers observed Gabriel Hostin on the railroad right-of-way "in violation of the posted NO TRESPASSING signs." Photographs in the police record show multiple warning signs positioned near the entrance and gated access point.
In a letter to authorities obtained by TMZ, Sunny Hostin argued her son had mistakenly entered the property while jogging, claiming the entrance gate was open and asserting that the "No Trespassing" sign was positioned in a location not visible during entry.
During the encounter, one officer tells Gabriel Hostin: "We know you're not a criminal or anything like that, but our hands are tied with cameras everywhere," suggesting that the presence of recording devices influences enforcement decisions.
The video sparked criticism on social media, with conservative commentators drawing contrasts between Hostin's previous public statements about the principle that "no one is above the law" and her demonstrated reliance on her professional standing during this police encounter. Accounts including Libs of TikTok and End Wokeness highlighted this perceived inconsistency.
According to court records, Gabriel Hostin is scheduled to appear in New Rochelle City Court on July 31.
