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Mayor Eric Adams stopped in the Bronx Saturday night, a day after pleading not guilty to corruption charges. Adams is the first sitting mayor in the history of New York City to be charged in a federal corruption probe. He spoke for the first time Saturday since his appearrance in court on Friday. Adams made his way to two religious services within the boroughs, reflecting on what has transpired over the last few days while preaching words of encouragement. “The God I know is a God and justice. A God of justice. So, yes, yes, I know there are those out there that will try to judge my life without reflecting on theirs. But I know the God I serve. And he’s still in charge,” Adams said at the at the Lehman Arts Center. He made the remark during the Center’s gospel explosion concert. Adams was welcomed with applause and then addressed the allegations against him as he leaned into his faith.
He was at church service in Queens earlier on Saturday
. This was Adams’ first time speaking publicly since his 57-page indictment was unsealed Thursday morning. The indictment revealed a slew of charges for the first-term mayor that included conspiracy, wire fraud, solicitation of contributions from foreign nationals and bribery. The indictment also detailed nearly a decade of alleged criminal acts. Earlier in the day, while speaking at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, Adams spoke about his humble upbringing. “Because we know they’re going to be some good days, some bad days, some days you wish you would have gotten out of bed and some days you wish you would have stayed in bed. But all of them together, is going to know that in the words of the song ‘How Great Thou,'” he said. After a multitude of calls from local leaders for him to resign amid the allegations, Adams is not backing down. He is due back in court on Wednesday, Oct. 2. ”