Families of September 11 victims have gathered more than 82,000 signatures demanding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani be excluded from the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero, and Republican senators are lining up behind them.
The petition, addressed to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, asks organizers to block Mamdani from the commemoration based on what families describe as his record of associating with individuals linked to extremism, his failure to condemn rhetoric they consider dangerous, and statements they say are incompatible with the ceremony's purpose. Fox News Digital reported that several GOP senators voiced their support for the effort after being interviewed on Capitol Hill.
Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York City, has said he still plans to attend. His office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment, though his spokesperson told the New York Post that the mayor "will proudly honor the families, survivors and first responders forever impacted by these devastating attacks by standing alongside them at this year's 9/11 Commemoration."
That framing did not sit well with the man who started the petition. Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace Catherine Galante was killed in the September 11 attacks, has organized the drive and laid out the families' case in pointed terms.
Galante told Just The News that the petition describes Mamdani as an "unwelcome guest," and he framed the objection not as partisan politics but as a matter of the mayor's own public record:
"Our objection is based on his public record, his failure to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of that day, and his employment of, support for, or association with individuals who have minimized 9/11, defended terrorists, or even suggested America 'deserved' the attacks."
The families' petition cites eight specific concerns. Seven are enumerated in available reporting. They include claims that Mamdani has never directly condemned the phrase "globalize the intifada," that he has associated with extremist and anti-American individuals, and that his beliefs were shaped by his father, who, the petition alleges, called for destigmatizing suicide bombers and drew comparisons between the United States and al Qaeda.
The petition also flags Mamdani's comments blaming the United States for the radicalization of Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda propagandist killed by a U.S. drone strike. It cites his praise and appointment of people the families say are linked to radical Islam, including Ramzi Kassem, whom Mamdani appointed as the city's chief counsel. Kassem previously represented al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi and Columbia protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil.
Another concern: Mamdani's recent endorsement of Darializa Aria Chevalier, described as a democratic socialist.
The petition also references Mamdani's praise of Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. And many GOP lawmakers have pointed to an interview from last year in which Mamdani refused to call for Hamas to lay down its weapons.
The petition closes with a request that stops short of a demand but carries unmistakable weight: "Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani's participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy."
Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana offered the most detailed criticism. He accused Mamdani of giving a platform to Islamic extremism and alleged that both the mayor and his wife openly support Hamas.
"He's platformed Islamic extremism, and he openly supports Hamas, as does his wife. And Hamas is not just an adjacent organization to all the other Muslim extremists, they're one of the core members of it."
Sheehy did not hold back about how he views the mayor's fitness to stand at Ground Zero:
"As far as I'm concerned, he's a disgrace and an embarrassment to the country, but we'll see if he shows up, right?"
He added that the families themselves should have the final say. "At the end of the day, those families should have the say who's going to show up and honor the memory of their own families," Sheehy said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune kept his response brief but blunt. "I mean I can't defend anything that guy says or does," Thune told Fox News Digital.
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana added a characteristically dry remark: "It might be appropriate if he goes while wearing a paper bag over his head."
Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska focused on the trajectory of Mamdani's public statements. "I think he has said some pretty disgusting things and seems to be on that trend line that he's going to talk like that more and more," Fischer said. "And so I certainly can understand why some of the families feel that way."
Mamdani has shown no sign of backing down. He told the Washington Examiner that he views the day as one of shared grief. "We will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home, and frankly by all of us who call this country home," Mamdani said.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has weighed in with a carefully neutral statement. The organization said it has "intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics," that elected officials do not deliver remarks during the ceremony, and that they are asked to remain in a designated area. All sitting mayors have attended in the past.
That protocol gives the museum a built-in reason to avoid taking sides. But the families' petition is not asking for a policy change, it is asking for one specific mayor to be kept away, based on what they consider a disqualifying record.
The petition's signature count has climbed fast. Early reporting from Just The News placed it at more than 1,100 signatures, including roughly 300 family members of victims. The New York Post and Breitbart later reported more than 42,000 and 43,000 signatures respectively. Fox News Digital's most recent count put the number above 82,000 as of Monday evening.
The effort has drawn support beyond Capitol Hill. Actress Patricia Heaton endorsed the petition publicly, writing "Keep it going New Yorkers" on X. Actor James Woods also voiced opposition to Mamdani's participation.
One 9/11 family member quoted in the petition captured the raw anger driving the campaign: "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."
Several questions remain unanswered. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has not said whether it will act on the petition or whether it has the authority to bar an elected official from attending. The museum's existing protocol, keeping elected officials in a designated area and off the podium, was designed for a different kind of controversy than this one.
Mamdani's office has not addressed the petition's specific allegations point by point. His spokesperson's statement focused on the mayor's intent to "honor" victims, not on the claims about his associations, his father's statements, or his appointment of Kassem.
And the families have not said what they will do if Mamdani shows up anyway. The petition is a request, not a court order. Whether it becomes something more depends on whether the museum treats it as public pressure or as a binding moral claim from the people who lost the most on that day.
Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001. Their families are not asking for much, just that the man who leads their city not treat their ceremony as a photo opportunity while his record raises the very questions the petition lays out. If Mamdani wants to honor the dead, he could start by answering the living.
