Actress Patricia Heaton shared her support to ban Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from this year’s 9/11 anniversary ceremony.
“Keep it going New Yorkers,” the Everybody Loves Raymond star wrote in a Monday X post, reacting to a petition urging Mamdani to skip this year’s 25th anniversary commemorative event honoring the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In her post, Heaton also shared another message from a New Yorker, who wrote, “The petition was drafted by someone who lost their family member on 9/11.”
The X post also featured a quote from someone who lost a family member on September 11, 2001, arguing that Mamdani “is disqualified from attending the 9/11 remembrance ceremony and ought be barred.”
“My brother David was murdered by terrorists on 9/11 at the WTC. I am incensed that a terrorist excuser is now Mayor, and outspoken sympathizer for terrorist perpetrators,” the quote added.
The petition — signed by more than 43,000 people at the time of this writing — calls for the event’s organizers to “carefully consider” whether Mamdani’s “participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy.”
“The family members of those murdered on 9/11, write to express our concern regarding the potential inclusion of Zohran Mamdani in the 25th-year commemorative events,” the petition reads.
“Concerns have been raised about Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values,” it added.
The petition goes on to list several concerns, including Mamdani’s “perceived reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn phrases such as ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many interpret as endorsing or normalizing violence.”
Concerned family members of those murdered on 9/11 continued in their petition:
Mamdani has praised Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to radical Islam, was named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and served as a character witness for the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks against the United States.
Mamdani has blamed the United States for radicalizing Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda propagandist linked to the 9/11 hijackers. Critics have likened this to blaming victims rather than perpetrators.
Mamdani appointed Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi (convicted in an al-Qaeda tanker bombing plot), as New York City’s chief counsel.
Mamdani has endorsed candidates such as Aber Kawas, who described 9/11 as an attack “a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia,” and who also expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue.
Mamdani recently stood with DSA primary winner Darializa Aria Chevalier, who once tweeted, “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me.”
“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 petition read.
“The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day,” it added. “Ensuring that all participants reflect these principles is essential to preserving the integrity of the commemoration.”
Heaton is not the only celebrity to share her support for barring Mamdani from this year’s 9/11 anniversary ceremony.
“What’s going to happen on September 11? Is Mamdani gonna go speak at the World Trade Center site?” actor James Woods asked with incredulous laughter during a Monday appearance on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show podcast.
Johnson responded by pointing out that some of the 9/11 families have been “asking him not to.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.