By: Emily Nixon
New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani was one of many in attendance at the 9/11 memorial ceremony at the former site of the Twin Towers. Numerous people started petitions in the late summer calling for the mayor to stay away from the memorial, making it the first time in history that an NYC Mayor has been asked to be absent from the ceremony.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration,” Mamdani told CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer on July 28. “Reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home, and frankly, by all of us who call this country home.”
During the ceremony, ABC News reported that former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who held office during the 9/11 attacks, shook hands with Mamdani and exchanged pleasantries.
Giuliani was one of many who criticized Mamdani’s decision to attend the ceremony, saying Mamdani “doesn’t agree that September 11 was an Islamic terrorist attack on the United States of America,” in an interview with Newsmax.
Among his reasons to bar Mamdani from the ceremony, Mamdani’s priorities and connections were a point of suspicion for Giuliani.
“Mamdani is a clear supporter of [Islamic takeover]. All of the muslims he supports are murderers,” said Giuliani in the interview.
But Giuliani wasn’t the only one angered by Mamdani’s presence. After the memorial ceremony, hundreds of protestors gathered outside City Hall and marched through the streets of Manhattan, expressing their frustration at Mamdani’s appearance at the event.
One prominent attendee of the protest was Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021 rioter, who posted two videos of him walking in the protest on X. One post showed signs with “Deport All Muslims” and “Deport 100 Million” being held by protestors behind Lang.
In another post, Lang wrote “Thousands of Christan Crusaders took over NYC for a true 9/11 Memorial March. The message we sent is clear: Stop the Islamic takeover.”
Some NYC legislators, such as Governor Kathy Hochul, have remained supportive of Mamdani’s decision to appear at the ceremony.
“Division should not prevail over the spirit of unity that brought us together after September 11th,” stated Hochul in a post on X. “The Mayor of New York City will be there, as he should be.”
A petition started by Giovanni Galante who lost his wife on 9/11, has garnered 115,413 signatures in support of barring Mamdani from the memorial ceremony.
The petition stated that Galante was concerned about Mamdani’s “public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile,” such as “support for, or associations with, individuals [… who] are viewed by concerned [9/11 victims’] family members as dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies,” among other incidents.
Opponents of Mamdani’s attendance have criticized his recent gift of a 9/11 ceremonial pen to his Chief Counsel Ramzi Kassem. Kassem and his team wrote both executive orders signed by Mamdani with the pen as part of his duties as chief counsel.
Mamdani signed Executive Order 22, which safeguards “New York City’s Essential Services”, and Executive Order 21, which established Sept. 11 as a “citywide day of remembrance and service.”
In 2018, Kassem volunteered to represent Ahmed Muhammed Haza al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty to working with al-Qaeda during the early 2000s, as his defense lawyer, according to The New York Times (NYT).
“[al-Darbi] – in about late 2000 or early 2001– began working with a group of al Qaeda operatives […] on plot to attack civilian oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and/or off the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden,” states a stipulation of fact surrounding al-Darbi’s case from 2013, released by the same NYT article.
Counter petitions, such as the one created by Ryan Shrime, demanded that others respect Mayor Mamdani’s decision to attend the ceremony. Shrime’s petition, started six days ago, collected 155 signatures by 9/11.
During the 9/11 memorial, live broadcasting by various news services caught Mamdani and NY Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) greeting each other with smiles while the ceremony continued behind them.
The New York Post released an article saying the pair were “yukking it up” during the ceremony.
Former Mayor Giuliani’s security guard and former candidate for NY City Council, Michael Ragusa, posted on X about the incident, claiming he was present during the moment caught on camera and that it lacked context.
“The videos of @NYCMayor and @AOC laughing are not true. I was standing next to them the whole time. The camera just caught her greeting him hello,” wrote Ragusa. “And for the record, I am a lifelong Republican who has been very critical of these two. I’m just sick of this fake news and people just saying whatever they want.”
Ragusa had also discouraged Mamdani from attending the 9/11 memorial.
“@RudyGiuliani is the only mayor who should be at the 9/11 25th Anniversary. He led us through the darkest time in history,” wrote Ragusa on X on July 26.
Ragusa also said politicians on both sides of the aisle were “laughing and joking” behind him as he attended the event.
Other users, such as Lucas Sanders, posted a photo of Giuliani, Vice President JD Vance, and United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick smiling during the same event on X.
“Everyone! Here’s AOC and Mamdani laughing yesterday at the 9/11 event: Oh wait! That’s JD Vance, Rudy Giuliani, and Howard Lutnick,” wrote Sanders.
With many polarizing takes, CNN host and lawyer Van Jones made one thing clear about his view on the protests on his X account.
“This protest was one of the stupidest, most UN-American things anyone could ever take part in,” wrote Jones. “It was a despicable act of anti-Muslim bigotry — plain and simple. And it had no place in NYC — yesterday or ever.”
Throughout the petitions and claims made against him, Mamdani kept his focus on honoring the victims of 9/11 and understanding his connection to 9/11 as NYC’s leading politician.
“I’m proud to be the mayor of this city, […] what I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago, in the horrific act of terror of Sept. 11,” Mamdani shared in an interview with WJAC6, a Pennsylvania-based affiliate of NBC News.
“So, in the days to come, my focus will be on attending events that memorialize that incredible courage.”