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Mamdani heads to 9/11 memorial despite 110,000-signature push from victims’ families to stay away

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Schmad, R. (2026, September 11). Mamdani heads to 9/11 memorial despite 110,000-signature push from victims’ families to stay away. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mamdani-heads-9-11-memorial-despite-110000-signature-push-from-victims-families-stay-away

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Fox News · collected 2026-09-11 · by Robert Schmad

Quick Summary

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to attend the annual 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero on Friday despite a petition signed by over 110,000 people, including relatives of victims, asking him to stay away. The controversy surrounds Mamdani's appointment as chief legal counsel of Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented an al Qaeda operative. Vice President JD Vance and former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are also expected to attend the invitation-only event. Critics argue that Mamdani's presence may detract from the solemn purpose of the memorial service.
Written by AI on 2026-09-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, New York City's first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, faces controversy over his decision to attend memorial events despite calls from some victims' families and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for him to stay away. Mamdani, who lost an older brother in the attacks, insists on honoring those affected by reading out names at Ground Zero. Meanwhile, nearly 110,000 signatures have been collected through a petition urging Mamdani not to attend, citing concerns over his past associations and appointments that some see as conflicting with the solemnity of the event. Despite this opposition, Mamdani is moving forward with plans to release more than 170,000 pages of documents related to air quality around Ground Zero in the months following 9/11, aiming to provide transparency on what the city knew about toxic conditions and how they handled it.

Written for “9/11 Memorial Controversies” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 169 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 9/11 Memorial Controversies
Politics · 170 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 2 of 72 claims Outlet record 66/100
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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 48 claims Outlet record 59/100
Times of India
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
On Being a 9/11 Kid Same event
The Dispatch
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 61/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 134 claims Outlet record 66/100
TIME
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 42 claims Outlet record 59/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 71 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
170
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6063 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Robert Schmad
44 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Robert Schmad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 44 articles by Robert Schmad →

Topics

9/11 New York City New Yorkers al Qaeda the 9/11 Memorial & Museum

Subjects

Mamdani PERSON · 6× Kassem PERSON · 3× New York City GPE · 2× New Yorkers NORP · 2× Barack Obama PERSON · 1× Bill Clinton PERSON · 1× JD Vance PERSON · 1× Joe Biden PERSON · 1× Zohran Mamdani PERSON · 1× the 9/11 Memorial & Museum ORG · 1×

Narrative

In addition to his appointment of Kassem, Mamdani has also caught flak from critics in the lead-up to Sept. 11 for his past failure to denounce the phrase "globalize the intifada," his praise for an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, his endorsement of candidates who have made controversial statements about the attack and his continued association with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who stated that America "deserved 9/11."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-11
🔮 Scores of New Yorkers, including some families victimized by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, are asking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip the annual memorial service at Ground Zero — a call he is not heeding.

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

Scores of New Yorkers, including some families victimized by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, are asking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip the annual memorial service at Ground Zero — a call he is not heeding. asserted
he → include → call
Mamdani is set to attend the annual remembrance ceremony on Friday at Ground Zero, which is an invitation-only event attended by victims’ families, dignitaries and other invited guests. asserted
which → set → families
Hosted by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the event begins at 8:30 a.m. asserted
event → host → a.m.
Vice President JD Vance and former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are also expected to attend. asserted
Vance → expect → ?
A petition launched by relatives of 9/11 victims, which has since garnered roughly 110,000 signatures, asks Mamdani to stay home on Friday, citing his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city's chief legal counsel. asserted
which → launch → counsel
Kassem previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda operative who pleaded guilty to war-crimes charges. asserted
who → represent → charges
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 reads. asserted
petition → perceive → pain
"The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day. asserted
that → remain → day
Ensuring that all participants reflect these principles is essential to preserving the integrity of the commemoration." asserted
participants → ensure → commemoration
The controversy intensified after Mamdani handed a ceremonial pen used to sign 9/11-related executive orders to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and asked her to pass it to Kassem. asserted
Mamdani → intensify → Kassem
Critics on social media characterized the hand-off as a slap in the face to relatives of those who died in the attacks. asserted
who → characterize → attacks
The mayor has defended his decision to attend the 9/11 memorial despite the criticisms levied against him. asserted
mayor → defend → him
I love this city. asserted
I → love → city
I love this country. asserted
I → love → country
And what I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11, and a focus also on the first responders who gave everything they could to this city and to the people who came together to try and help their fellow New Yorkers," Mamdani said in response to the criticisms. uncertain
Mamdani → want → criticisms
Former New York Gov. George Pataki and one-time New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, both Republicans, have echoed calls for Mamdani to stay away from the ceremony. asserted
Mamdani → echo → ceremony
"Having lost friends there and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he’s coming," the former mayor said. asserted
mayor → lose → me
In addition to his appointment of Kassem, Mamdani has also caught flak from critics in the lead-up to Sept. 11 for his past failure to denounce the phrase "globalize the intifada," his praise for an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, his endorsement of candidates who have made controversial statements about the attack and his continued association with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who stated that America "deserved 9/11." asserted
America → catch → 9/11
The mayor later called Piker’s comments "objectionable and reprehensible," though has not disavowed him as a figure. asserted
mayor → call → figure
He has also since stated that he would "discourage" people from saying "globalize the intifada." asserted
he → state → intifada
The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday. asserted
office → respond → Thursday
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