New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted Thursday on federal charges that he took illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals, including lavish overseas trips, in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish officials bypass a fire safety inspection for a new diplomatic tower in the city.

Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, faces conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in a five-count indictment outlining a decade-long trail of corruption that began when he served as an elected official in Brooklyn and continued through his mayoral administration.

Adams’ arraignment was scheduled for noon on Friday before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker. It is the first time in more than 150 years that a sitting New York City mayor has been indicted.

Among other things, prosecutors allege that Adams received free and steeply discounted flight upgrades valued at more than $100,000, as well as campaign contributions from straw donors, some of which helped him qualify for more than $10 million in matching public campaign funds.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for Manhattan, said at a news conference that Adams sold his influence to a senior Turkish official and others who engaged in a “multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single New York politician on the rise.”

In exchange for the bribes, the official asked Adams to take actions that appeared to benefit the Turkish regime, including expediting the fire safety inspection at a consulate building, according to the indictment.

Adams had a duty to disclose gifts he received, but year after year “kept the public in the dark,” the U.S. attorney added.

At a press conference held at Gracie Mansion shortly after the indictment was unsealed, Adams denied wrongdoing and said he doesn't plan to resign, adding that his administration was "not surprised" by the turn of events.

"We expected this. This is not surprising to us at all. The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months, the leaks and commentary, the demonizing, this did not surprise us that we reached this day. And I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments," he said.

Hazel Dukes, a past national president of the NAACP and current president of the NAACP New York State Conference, defended the mayor at the press conference.

"I am 92 years of age. I've known this young man for over 40 years," Dukes said. "He's going to have his day in court, and we're going to stand by him. We came this morning to pray for him, 'cause prayer changes things."

"I am asking all New Yorkers to hear his side, to let him have a day in court. Let him have his day in court and then we can make our decisions," she added. "We are calling on all New Yorkers to listen carefully, not to the loudmouth, but listen to facts and figures. His lawyers will go and do our work for us, and we will stand with this mayor."

As Adams and others close to him addressed the media, protesters heckled them, with some chanting “abuse of power" as police circled them and one shouting, “He’s a corrupt mayor. He deserves to be in handcuffs.”

Speaking to reporters outside Gracie Mansion Thursday afternoon, Adams' attorney, Alex Spiro, vehemently defended the mayor, who stood by his side.

"We've known for some time that they intended to bring a case against the mayor one way or another. We've had a chance now to look at the indictment. We watched their little press conference. You know, and you could almost picture them trying to cobble this together to try to tell a story so that they could say corruption, corruption at this press conference," Spiro said. "And you know, they do that to tarnish him in your eyes. That's why they're doing that."

The discounted flight upgrades the indictment alleges Adams received were "upgrades on airlines with open seats," Spiro said.

"That's what airlines do. They do it every day. They do it for VIPs, they do it for congresspeople. They're empty seats. They cost the airlines nothing," he said.

Spiro added that the indictment did not show Adams "taking in the money."

The attorney also maintained the indictment "left out something very important, something you will soon see, which is that there are emails with Mayor Adams telling them, telling this staffer, telling all of them, do not take foreign money, period."

"That's in emails. You will see those," he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office. The New York state Constitution says the New York City mayor "may be removed from office by the governor upon charges and after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense. Pending the preparation and disposition of charges, the governor may suspend the mayor for a period not exceeding thirty days."

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated press conference in Syracuse Thursday, Hochul described the unsealing of the indictment as "a very serious matter that is unfolding."

"As the governor of the state of New York, I have a unique responsibility here to make sure I do right by all people in this great state. And I also represent 8.3 million New Yorkers. When they elected me to be their governor, I became the governor of this entire state including all the residents of New York City, and I want them to know this: I will be deliberative, I will be thoughtful, but we're going to come to the right resolution on what to do in this moment," she said.

"I want to reassure them that this is important to me, it's important to them, but their best interests are what drives me every single day," she added. "And as I said my first day in office, I will fight like hell for them, to make sure that we can lift them up, make them feel safe in their streets, give their families new opportunities, and continue representing them to the very best of my ability, and that is my statement today."

Prosecutors allege that Adams sought and accepted illegal contributions funneled to his campaign through an unnamed official in the Turkish diplomatic establishment. The official arranged for Adams and his companions to receive free or discounted travel on Turkey’s national airline to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, and Turkey, the indictment alleges.

Additionally, Adams sought illegal campaign contributions from foreign officials, then “compounded his gains” by gaming the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small-dollar donations. In total, his campaign received more than $10 million in matching public funds, which are only supposed to be available to candidates who play by the rules, according to the indictment.

In September 2021, a Turkish official told Adams it was time to repay him for the contributions and benefits by pressuring the fire department to facilitate the opening of the consulate without a fire inspection, in time for a high-profile visit by Turkey’s president. That request would have been a few months before Adams took office, but after it was clear he would become mayor.

Even after a fire department official warned that major defects at the consulate building had left it “unsafe to occupy,” Adams pushed safety officials to allow it to open. Days later, Adams relayed news of the approval to the Turkish official, who called Adams a “true friend of Turkey,” the indictment stated. Adams responded: "You are my brother. I am hear (sic) to help,” according to the indictment.

Several months later, the Turkish official messaged an Adams staffer with another request: that the mayor “not make any statement about the Armenian Genocide" ahead of an April remembrance day, according to the indictment. The staffer confirmed that Adams wouldn't mention it, which he didn't, prosecutors said. The Turkish government denies that the 1915 killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians qualifies as a genocide.

At times, Adams created and instructed others to create fake paper trails in order to falsely suggest he had paid for travel benefits that were actually free, prosecutors allege. He also deleted messages with others involved in his misconduct, at one point assuring a co-conspirator that he “always” deleted her text messages, according to the indictment.

The charges were made public hours after FBI agents entered the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, and seized his phone early Thursday, capping an extraordinary few weeks in New York City that have seen a drum-beat of raids, subpoenas and high-level resignations of members of Adams' inner circle.

At the U.S. attorney's news conference, he said the corruption investigation would continue.

Federal prosecutors are believed to be leading multiple, separate inquiries involving Adams and his senior aides, relatives of those aides, campaign fundraising and possible influence peddling of the police and fire departments.

In the last two weeks alone, the city’s police commissioner and head of the school’s system have announced their resignations.

Adams spent 22 years in New York City’s police department before going into politics, first as a state senator and then as Brooklyn borough president. He was elected as the city’s second Black mayor in 2021.

FBI agents had seized Adams’ electronic devices nearly a year ago as part of an investigation focused, at least partly, on campaign contributions and Adams’ interactions with the Turkish government. Because the charges were sealed, it was unknown whether they dealt with those same matters.

In early September, federal investigators seized devices from his police commissioner, schools chancellor, two deputy mayors and other trusted confidants both in and out of City Hall.

All have denied wrongdoing.

Under the New York City Charter, the Public Advocate, currently Jumaane Williams, would take over as acting mayor and a special election would be scheduled if Adams were to resign or be removed from office.

In a statement released Thursday, Williams said, in part, "It is federal officials' obligation to prove their case, and it is the mayor's obligation to prove to New Yorkers that there is a real plan and path to govern the city effectively and regain trust, and his time to show that plan is rapidly running out.”

Williams said he is "committed to working with my fellow elected officials and the many thousands of incredibly dedicated public servants to ensure our city continues to operate in any eventuality."

"As the Public Advocate, my role is to fight for the transparency, accountability, and governance that New Yorkers deserve," he added.

New York City City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, meanwhile, called the indictment “deeply troubling” during a press conference on Thursday.

“This is a sad and painful time for our city. These unfolding federal investigations and criminal charges surrounding top officials in the mayoral administration have had a major impact on New Yorkers' confidence and trust in our city government,” she said.

The Council speaker said that “anyone accused of a crime deserves due process, the presumption of innocence and the ability to defend themselves,” but added that “the ability to govern must be the top concern of city officials.”

“I ask the mayor to seriously and honestly consider whether full attention can be given to our deserving New Yorkers who need our government to be sound and stable,” she said.

She went on to say that she is "not going to offer a recommendation for resignation" to the mayor at this point.

"It is in his purview to think about it," she added.