The German artists who claimed credit for planting the white flags on the Brooklyn Bridge should face prosecution, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
“If they have violated a law, of course they should be prosecuted,” he said at a press conference.
Police sources said the Manhattan DA’s Office is seriously considering charging the pair with burglary and petit larceny.
“Petit larceny is definitely in play because the flags cost less than $500 each,” said one source. “Burglary is also an option because they bypassed locked gates to get up to the flags.”
Germany has a 1980 treaty with the United States that lists “burglary “ and “larceny” as charges that are considered extraditable offenses.
“No charging decisions have been made at this time,” said Joan Vollero, chief spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA’s Office.
Artists Mischa Leinkauf, 37, and Matthias Wermke, 35, of Berlin admitted swiping the flags.
Cops have obtained a surveillance video of Leinkauf at a Brooklyn Bridge subway station shortly before 3 a.m. July 22, a police source said.
The stolen American flags cost less than $500 each, police sources said.
The artists have claimed they will give the flags back on Tuesday.
“The return of the original flags is in progress … [We] were careful to treat the bridge and flag with respect and followed the U.S. flag code,” they said in a statement on Tuesday.
There are no immediate plans to extradite the artists, sources said.
Additional reporting by Natalie O’Neill