A spectator claiming to be “family” of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was hauled out of Brooklyn federal court in handcuffs Thursday after authorities learned he was wanted on multiple warrants, sources said.
Rene Javier Rivera Martinez caused a scene in the eighth-floor courtroom just after 9 a.m. when he tried to sit in the second row of the defense side of the gallery.
“I’m family of the Guzman-Loeras,” he insisted in Spanish to reporters covering the case.
Rivera claimed to be Italian, telling reporters he knew Chapo because “we have a lot of properties” in Mexico — before changing his tune to say he was just “close with” Chapo’s kin.
US marshals came to boot Rivera from the row — which is only available to family and requires advance notice in order to sit there. But he refused to get up and scrambled to show them his New York driver’s license.
The marshals escorted him into the hallway to speak with him, then gave him a seat in the overflow room.
About two hours later, Rivera was surrounded by seven or eight US marshals and taken out of the room. He was silent as the officers pushed him up against a wall and handcuffed him.
“He’s got multiple open warrants in Brooklyn,” a law enforcement source said.
On Jan. 19, a bench warrant was issued for Rivera in a misdemeanor aggravated harassment case in Brooklyn criminal court, officials said.
He is accused of sending threatening texts to a woman on Nov. 23, including, “What the f–k is this b—h, I’m coming after you, and I know where you work, you f–ked up,” according to the complaint.
Rivera was charged with two counts of aggravated harassment and one violation count of harassment.
There is also an order of deportation against him, sources said.
Rivera was turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday afternoon and is no longer in US marshal custody, officials said.
ICE didn’t immediately return a message.
Chapo lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman distanced the notorious drug lord from Rivera.
“The family disavows him completely. He’s an impostor,” Lichtman said.
Rivera was dressed in a zip-up sweater and had chin-length brown hair that was left uncombed on one side.
After his arrest, a law enforcement officer joked, “It’s Mayo!,” referencing Guzman’s at-large partner in the Sinaloa drug cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
The US marshals declined to comment.