Retired law enforcement officers demand Mamdani, Hochul stay away from 9/11 ceremony

In an August 11 letter addressed to Mamdani, the 600-member Port Authority Retired Police Association told the mayor that he was not welcome at the memorial ceremony.

“We do not believe you have earned the privilege to stand at Ground Zero alongside us, the families, survivors, and our fellow first responders,” association President John McDevitt wrote. “We do not believe you have earned the privilege to stand at Ground Zero alongside us, the families, survivors, and our fellow first responders.

“Your presence at Ground Zero on 9/11 would cause profound pain to members of the 9/11 community and risk turning a solemn day of remembrance into a political controversy,” he added.

The letter referenced Mamdani’s “rhetoric and affiliations that we believe have been hostile to law enforcement” and claimed that his political statements are “sympathetic” toward anti-American movements.

The organization also sent a letter to Hochul, where McDevitt called her “tone deaf” and cited her decision to light the One World Trade Center in January to honor Muslim American Heritage Month.

“To those of us who served there, your decision to utilize the WTC for this purpose was extremely tone-deaf, insensitive, and an affront to us, our families, and all those affected by this attack. Your action displayed neither concern nor reverence for the fallen,” he wrote. “Because of that insensitive and tone-deaf decision, we believe you have forfeited the privilege of standing alongside us, the 9/11 families, and fellow first responders at Ground Zero on this 25th anniversary.”

According to The New York Post, a spokesperson for Mamdani said he will be at the ceremony to “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 has also previously campaigned alongside streamer Hasan Piker, who has stated that America “deserved 9/11” and framed a newspaper covering the attacks in the background of his streams.