Mamdani Hands 9/11 Ceremony Pen to Lawyer Who Defended Al-Qaeda Operative Tied to Pentagon Hijacker

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NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed a pair of executive orders at City Hall on Friday, September 5, designating September 11 a citywide Day of Remembrance ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary. After signing the final order, Mamdani turned to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and quietly asked, “Can you pass this?” — instructing her to hand the ceremonial pen not to a 9/11 survivor or first responder, but to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, who arrived roughly 15 minutes late to the ceremony.

City Hall said Kassem was included because “he and his team drafted both executive orders as part of his duties.” But the moment drew immediate backlash once it became public: Kassem, a CUNY law professor, previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda operative convicted in the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker and the brother-in-law of Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the hijackers who flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

Details & Background

Kassem, 48, founded CUNY law school’s CLEAR clinic, which has represented a string of high-profile national-security defendants; he also represented Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University encampment spokesman. Mamdani appointed him chief counsel shortly after winning the mayoralty, a hire that drew criticism at the time from Jewish community groups over Kassem’s record on Israel-related activism.

The pen ceremony landed in the middle of an already tense buildup to the 25th anniversary. Weeks earlier, a group of 9/11 families had launched a petition — ultimately gathering more than 82,000 signatures — asking Mamdani to stay away from the Ground Zero remembrance ceremony altogether, and GOP senators including Tim Sheehy and John Kennedy publicly backed the effort. The mayor’s office has said he intends to attend the anniversary ceremony regardless, setting up what is likely to be an emotionally charged appearance in front of grieving families and first responders.

Reactions

Dennis Warchola, whose firefighter brother Michael died in the North Tower, said the choice of who received the pen was impossible to defend: “How can you defend a guy like that who wants to do Americans or any innocent person harm?” Retired NYPD detective Michael Alazar told the New York Post the gesture looked deliberate, not accidental: “It happened during a ceremony meant to be about the victims, and no one else… Commissioner Jessica Tisch was reduced to a prop rather than acknowledging her role as the leader of the NYPD.”

City Council members Joann Ariola and Vicki Paladino said the moment revealed “where Mamdani’s loyalties sit,” while commentator Benny Johnson called it “a slap in the face to victims ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.” Former state Senate candidate Maria Danzilo added, “I sincerely hope the rest of the country understands just how hard it is to be in New York City with this mayor.”

Why This Matters to You

This isn’t just a viral photo-op gone sideways — it’s playing out days before the entire country turns its attention to Ground Zero for the 25th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. How the mayor of the city most directly scarred by 9/11 handles that moment, and who he chooses to stand beside him, sends a message far beyond New York.

Whether you view this as an unfortunate staffing oversight or a genuine signal of the mayor’s priorities, it’s reasonable for New Yorkers — and Americans watching from anywhere — to expect more care around a symbol as solemn as this one. With 9/11 families already divided over whether Mamdani belongs at Ground Zero next week, this incident has only added fuel to a debate that isn’t going away before the anniversary arrives, and it will almost certainly be raised again as cameras turn toward the mayor at the ceremony itself.