Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal jumped the gun blaming “White Christian Nationalists” for an attack at Gracie Mansion this weekend, but it was really a couple of pro-Muslim demonstrators who were at fault.
There was a demonstration taking place outside the mayor’s home, where people were expressing their freedom of speech, whether we like it or not.
Some incendiary devices were used, and Hoylman-Sigal made an assumption that has come back to bite him rather hard.
I have always said that freedom of speech is easy to defend when you like what people are saying, but your devotion to the cause is tested when what is being said is abhorrent.
This weekend, there was a protest against New York City Mayor Mamdani that has been described as a representation of Islamophobia, and I am only surprised that it took this long for it to happen.
Mamdani has a long history of antisemitism in both his behavior and that of his staff, not to mention the rise of attacks against Jews in New York City, where he seems to look the other way or make excuses.
The city was warned time and again what would happen if he were to be elected, and this was an easy script to write. This time, however, tensions boiled over, and an improvised explosive was tossed into the area, which was immediately blamed on the White Nationalists who were protesting at the event.
This was reminiscent of Trump’s comments about the Charlottesville riots, with Hoylman-Sigal posting, “White Christian Nationalists led a roaming trail of Islamophobia and antisemitism today on Manhattan’s Upper East Side at Gracie Mansion where they targeted our mayor with an incendiary device.”
Whereas Democrats cherry-picked Trump’s comments and people assumed Trump was supporting the racists at the event, Hoylman-Sigal simply assumed they were the ones responsible, only it was later revealed that two pro-Muslim demonstrators, identified as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, were the ones who threw the devices.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat-turned-Republican and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, immediately went on the attack, stating, “It’s very sad. What’s happened to the Democrats? They’re blind to the point that facts don’t matter anymore. The damage is done. They jumped to conclusions.”
Hoylman-Sigal said his comments “evolved,” but that never should have been the case. He should have waited until all the facts were in before taking a swing, regardless of how repulsive one side or the other was in this protest.
Attorney General Pam Bondi did wait, and now that she has all the facts, charges have been handed down.
She stated, “We have indicted the two alleged ISIS-inspired terrorists who attempted to bomb a protest in New York City.
“We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation. Our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant.”
Drop the hammer, Ms. Attorney General, and drop it hard. You pull a stunt like this in this country, you deserve to feel the full brunt of the justice system. Yes, due to freedom of speech, people say repulsive things, but in the end, they are only words. What these two allegedly did, well, they must be made an example of, as this will simply not stand in our Republic.
