Family Members Of 9/11 Victims Want Mamdani Barred From 25th Anniversary Ceremonies

A growing grassroots effort led by families of 9/11 victims is demanding that New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani be banned from attending the upcoming 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero.

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The group pointed to his long record of troubling ties, radical associations, and statements regarding Islamic extremism.

A petition posted on Change.org has already garnered more than 5,200 signatures, including over 300 from family members of 9/11 victims. It contends that Mamdani’s presence at the Ground Zero event would be an insult to the memory of the nearly 3,000 Americans murdered by al-Qaeda terrorists.

Organizer Giovanni Galante, who lost his 29-year-old wife Grace in the attack, stressed that the silver-anniversary ceremony must remain a sacred space for mourning rather than a platform for figures connected to far-left anti-American rhetoric. “This day is sacred to us,” he said. “It is not political, and it is not a platform for those connected to such views. His presence would be deeply hurtful and inappropriate — like an unwelcome guest at a deeply personal ceremony.”

The petition centers its objection on Mamdani’s public record, citing “concerns [that] have been raised about Mr. Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values.”

Among the key points highlighted in the petition, grieving family members detail a long pattern of radical associations and statements that they say dishonor the victims. The petition notes Mamdani’s refusal to reject violent anti-Israel incitement, specifically citing a “perceived reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn phrases such as ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many interpret as endorsing or normalizing violence.”

It also notes that Mamdani has openly praised radical Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a figure “named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing” who also “served as a character witness for the ‘Blind Sheikh.’”

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The petition points out that Mamdani has previously blamed the U.S. government for radicalizing al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, which critics have slammed as blaming the victim rather than the perpetrators.

In addition,it notes that Mamdani appointed Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented an al-Qaeda operative convicted in a tanker bombing plot, as NYC’s chief counsel. He has also endorsed figures like Aber Kawas, who dismissed 9/11 as an attack where “a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia,” and recently campaigned alongside DSA primary winner Darializa Aria Chevalier, who boasted on social media about wiping her hands on the American flag.

The petition highlights that Mamdani’s own father, who shaped his worldview, authored a book after 9/11 arguing suicide bombers should be “understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism” — all while drawing a moral equivalence between America and al-Qaeda.

The New York Post reported:

Organizer Cheri Sparacio, whose 35-year-old husband Thomas was killed on 9/11, quipped there are  “so many other examples” why it would be “disrespectful” for Mamdani to attend the ceremony that “we couldn’t fit them on the list.” They include Mamdani’s longtime association with vile left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once said “America deserved” the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and Mamdani’s outlandish claim that he and other fellow Muslims were also victims of 9/11 because it supposedly triggered a horrible wave of “Islamophobia,” added Sparacio, of Staten Island.

“For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony — it is a deeply personal day of mourning,” the petition states. “The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain. … The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day. Ensuring that all participants reflect these principles is essential to preserving the integrity of the commemoration.”

City Hall signaled that Mamdani has no intention of stepping aside, with a spokesman confirming Mamdani still intends to attend.

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