New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing fierce backlash after a ceremonial pen from a 9/11 remembrance event was given to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented a convicted al-Qaeda operative. The handoff occurred as Mamdani signed two executive orders ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Video shows Mamdani passing the pen through NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch with instructions that it be delivered to Kassem.
The ceremony took place at City Hall on Friday, September 4th, with senior officials from the NYPD, FDNY, New York City Emergency Management, and other agencies standing alongside Mamdani. Kassem was also present in his capacity as the mayor’s chief counsel. The event was intended to honor the victims, first responders, survivors, city employees, and families whose lives were changed by the attacks.
Mamdani’s first executive order established September 11th as an annual citywide Day of Remembrance and Service. It encourages city agencies to hold moments of silence, memorial ceremonies, educational programs, and volunteer activities. The second order updated New York City’s continuity-of-operations policies and created an interagency team responsible for helping the government continue providing essential services during emergencies.
During the ceremony, Mamdani described “Never forget” as a solemn obligation to the dead and the first responders who rushed toward the World Trade Center. “When we say, ‘Never forget,’ we do not mean it in the abstract,” Mamdani said, according to the official City Hall transcript. “It is a sacred vow to those we will always mourn, the heroes who ran toward horror so that others could run toward home and to every New Yorker who showed such immeasurable solidarity and courage 25 years ago.”
After signing the final order, Mamdani handed the pen to Tisch and directed her to pass it to Kassem, according to Fox News. Tisch then walked the pen over to Kassem as the cameras continued rolling. The choice quickly drew criticism because of Kassem’s previous representation of Guantánamo Bay detainee Ahmed al-Darbi.
Kassem served as an attorney for al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty before a United States military commission to war-crime charges connected to al-Qaeda plots against commercial ships. Those plots included the October 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker “MV Limburg” off the coast of Yemen. Al-Darbi was also the brother-in-law of Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the terrorists aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when it struck the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.
Watch the pen handoff here:
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The handoff prompted immediate condemnation from critics who viewed Kassem’s inclusion in that moment as an insult to victims and their families. “This is a slap in the face to victims ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11,” commentator Benny Johnson wrote on X. Former New York 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, and especially as we’re approaching this most serious and solemn day for NYC: 9/11.”
Kassem founded a CUNY legal clinic that provides free representation to Muslims and has also represented Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. City Hall told the New York Post that Kassem attended the signing because he and his legal team drafted both executive orders as part of his official duties. Mamdani’s office didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s separate request for comment about the controversy.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.