Families Revolt: 9/11 Pen Stunt

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani handed a ceremonial 9/11 remembrance pen to a lawyer who once defended a man linked to Al Qaeda, sparking fury just days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

Story Snapshot

Mamdani handed his 9/11 remembrance pen to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, who once defended a terrorist tied to Al Qaeda.
A 2023 Mamdani post blamed 9/11 deaths on “the wars that followed,” language he repeated nearly word-for-word for years.
More than 110,000 people signed a petition asking Mamdani to skip 25th anniversary memorial events.
Families of 9/11 victims hand-delivered the petition to City Hall, calling his presence “disrespectful.”
Mamdani refused to back down and attended the ceremony anyway.

A Ceremonial Pen Sparks Fury

Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order last Friday marking September 11 as a Day of Remembrance. He then handed the signing pen to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer who previously represented an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist tied to the 9/11 attacks. City Hall claimed Kassem helped draft the order, but critics called the gesture stunning for a mayor supposedly honoring victims.

Republicans, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said the moment proved Mamdani cannot be trusted to lead the city through its most painful anniversary. The pen exchange happened during a week already loaded with tension, as thousands of New Yorkers demanded Mamdani stay far away from Ground Zero altogether.

Years of Recycled Words on a Sacred Day

A 2023 Mamdani post resurfaced online, reading: “Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers died on 9/11; 22 years later, the death hasn’t stopped… The hundreds of thousands who died in the wars that followed.” Critics say the post shifts focus away from the terrorists who murdered thousands of Americans.

A New York Post review of Mamdani’s account found he posted nearly identical wording every year starting in 2019, mourning “first responders” and “the millions who suffered in the wars that followed”. Backers of the families’ petition say this proves the framing was deliberate, not an accident, and repeated it for political gain year after year.

Families Demand He Stay Away

A group of 9/11 victims’ relatives gathered at City Hall to hand-deliver a petition asking Mamdani to skip anniversary ceremonies. The petition, started by Giovanni Galante, whose wife died in the attacks, called Mamdani’s attendance “disrespectful” to the memory of those killed. Another push, tracked by CBS News, echoed the same demand from grieving families.

More than 110,000 people ultimately signed petitions urging Mamdani to skip the 25th anniversary memorial, according to Fox News reporting. Organizers argued Mamdani’s record on Israel, his past defense of radical figures, and his recycled 9/11 statements made him unfit to stand among grieving families at Ground Zero.

Mamdani Refuses to Budge

Despite the outcry, Mamdani said he would attend the remembrance ceremony and “proudly honor” the families and first responders “forever impacted” by the attacks. He repeated that pledge even as Giuliani publicly told him to stay home, saying the mayor’s presence “offends” him.

🇺🇸 MAMDANI FACES BACKLASH AT 9/11 REMEMBRANCE

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero despite a petition reportedly signed by more than 110,000 people urging him to stay away.

“He showed up anyway. It does bother us,” one mourner… pic.twitter.com/SBYnGLrfZY

— Israel Dispatch (@IsraelDispatch) September 12, 2026

ABC News confirmed Mamdani followed through and attended Friday’s ceremony despite the mounting criticism from victims’ families and prominent Republicans. For conservatives who value honoring America’s fallen without political spin, the episode fits a troubling pattern: a mayor more focused on managing his own image than respecting the solemn weight of September 11.