Mamdani Defies 110,000-Signature Petition to Attend 9/11 Memorial

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 11

Zohran Mamdani is set to attend Friday’s 8:30 a.m. 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero despite calls from some victims’ families that he stay away.
Roughly 110,000 people have signed a petition objecting to his presence, citing his appointment of chief legal counsel Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented an al Qaeda operative.
The backlash intensified after Mamdani gave NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch a ceremonial 9/11 pen and asked her to pass it to Kassem, a gesture critics called insulting to victims’ relatives.
Mamdani said the week should stay focused on families and first responders, while former New York leaders Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki joined demands that he skip the 25th-anniversary ceremony.
The dispute has widened into scrutiny of Mamdani’s past comments and associations, including his handling of the phrase “globalize the intifada” and ties to streamer Hasan Piker, who said America “deserved 9/11.”