The View co-host Sunny Hostin was captured in newly released bodycam footage trying to convince police not to issue her son with a trespassing citation.
Gabriel Hostin, 24, was stopped by officers in Westchester County, New York, on June 16 after being found near Metro-North Railroad tracks in New Rochelle.
According to court records reviewed by several outlets, he was “on the right-of-way of the active railroad tracks, in violation of the posted no trespassing signs”.
Gabriel reportedly told police he had been out for a run and noticed that a gate near the tracks was open.
He was already on the phone with his mother when officers approached him, and the TV host later came to the scene herself.
In the footage, Hostin can be heard identifying herself to police, saying: “My name is Sunny Hostin and I’m one of the co-hosts of The View and I’m a former federal prosecutor. That’s my son. He’s a Harvard graduate, he doesn’t have a criminal record.”
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Sunny Hostin and son seen on police body cam in trespassing incident. https://t.co/JAMUKRJD7p pic.twitter.com/m25cxe3B1E
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 17, 2026
She then continued her appeal to officers:
“I’m a former federal prosecutor. He knows. He’s a Harvard grad who teaches 4th grade geometry to South Bronx kids.
“He’s not a kid who’s ever in trouble. It’s an innocent mistake.”
Hostin also asked police whether it was “necessary” to detain her son, with officers replying together: “Yes.”
Gabriel then asked, “What happens if you didn’t do it?” which led officers to explain that their “hands were tied”.
One officer told him: “Because it is an arrestable offense. I want to make that clear, okay? Where you were on the tracks is an arrestable offense.”
Another officer added: “We’re dimming it down to a trespass violation because you were in the right-of-way, you weren’t in the gauge or anything, which is the middle area where the tracks were on.
“And you’ve been very cooperative with us and you have a good background, everything like that. We know you’re not a criminal or anything like that but our hands are tied with cameras everywhere.”
Hostin is now acting as her son’s legal representative and has argued that Gabriel had “no intent to trespass”, while urging prosecutors to throw out the violation. Court records show he is due back in New Rochelle City Court on July 31.
In a letter obtained by TMZ, she wrote: “The continued prosecution of this violation — arising from an honest mistake — serves neither the interests of justice nor the public interest.
“Dismissal would avoid imposing unnecessary consequences on a young man who has demonstrated exceptional character and achievement and who poses no risk to the community.”