Zohran Mamdani, a socialist running for mayor of New York City, had previously signed a letter that referred to the conservative activist Charlie Kirk—who was killed last week—as a “extremist” and asked a New York City venue to exclude him from speaking.
When Mamdani and other local Democrats sent out a press release in June 2023, it was “in response to Motif Studios agreeing to host a far-right extremist event on June 17th at Tammany House in Long Island City.”
“As elected officials representing western Queens, we are deeply disappointed by the decision by Motif Studios to host an event by the far-right extremist groups Blexit and Turning Point USA at their Triplex LIC/Tammany House venue in Long Island City,” according to the statement.
“Providing a platform for the kind of transphobic, bigoted views held by invited speakers Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and others goes directly against the diversity and inclusivity that we hold dear as New Yorkers and is an insult to every member of our community.”
After another nearby venue “canceled their booking after the community spoke out” against the “bigotry” of the event organizers, Motif Studios was urged by the elected Democrats to “follow the lead” and stop hosting the event.
“Hate has no home in Queens, New York City, or anywhere else and certainly not here in Long Island City,” according to the announcement.
The event went down without a hitch, and Kirk shared footage of an activist’s removal from the premises following their attempt to interrupt the festivities.
HeadlinesForever Digital spoke with GOP Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz of New York’s 15th District, who said that Kirk’s murder was an act of free speech gone wrong and that politicians should be made to “reckon with the culture of hate that has been allowed to grow.”
“We cannot ignore that my colleagues, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and his radical DSA allies, once tried to silence Charlie Kirk in New York City, pressuring venues to cancel his events,” stated Blumencranz.
“That mindset of censorship and public shaming feeds the hostile climate we see today and corrodes the American ideal that speech must be met with more speech, not suppression.”
There has been a raging political discussion in the United States over free speech since Kirk’s murder, and Blumencranz told HeadlinesForever Digital that he thinks Mamdani, who is leading the campaign to become the next mayor of New York City, has been hypocritical on the matter of speech.
“What’s most telling is Mamdani’s double standard: the speech he rushes to protect — like ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many view as a call to violence against Jews — tears at America’s fabric, while the speech he vigorously fights to silence is the very kind that keeps our democracy alive,” according to Blumencranz.
“New Yorkers must ask themselves what it would mean to have a ‘Silencer-in-Chief’ like Zohran Mamdani in City Hall,” Blumencranz concluded. It is evident that Zohran Mamdani is not the kind of leader that New York needs—a “Unifier-in-Chief” who will protect free speech and unite the city’s citizens.
Mamdani spoke out against the killing of Kirk, calling it “horrific” and adding, “yet another victim of gun violence in a nation where what should be a rarity has turned into a plague.” He was addressing the issue in front of a gathering of supporters.