Grace Catherine Galante was 29 years old when she was murdered on September 11, 2001. Her husband Giovanni has spent the 25 years since honoring her memory. Now he's spending his time making sure the man who runs New York City doesn't get to stand at the site where she died and pretend he cares.
More than 6,000 people have signed Giovanni Galante's petition. Roughly 300 of them are family members of 9/11 victims.
The target of the petition is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who the families want barred from attending the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero this September. The petition labels Mamdani an "unwelcome guest" — and the reasons go well beyond political disagreement.
Galante laid it out plainly: "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."
Mamdani appointed Ramzi Kassem as his chief counsel — a man who has defended al-Qaeda terrorists. He maintains a relationship with Siraj Wahhaj, an imam who was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His own father has expressed sympathy toward suicide bombers. His wife reportedly celebrated the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. And Mamdani himself has publicly called for "globalizing the intifada" and endorsed DSA candidates who claimed America "deserved" the 9/11 attacks.
Social media posts from 2015 show the now-mayor defending Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda-linked cleric who U.S. officials say interacted with three of the 9/11 hijackers. Mamdani's posts reportedly blamed America for turning al-Awlaki into a terrorist.
Cheri Sparacio, whose husband Thomas was killed on 9/11 at the age of 35, co-organized the petition. She noted there were "so many other examples" of Mamdani's record that they couldn't all be listed.
Mamdani has publicly condemned the September 11 attacks and praised first responders. Which is roughly the minimum threshold for holding public office in a city that lost 2,977 people that morning. The families aren't impressed by a politician checking the box on condemning terrorism while his chief counsel defended the terrorists, his spiritual associate was linked to the first attempt to bring down the towers, and his own family members have expressed sympathy for the people who carried out the attacks.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum has stated that the commemoration is "intentionally" kept free of politics. An interesting position. The families would probably argue that inviting a mayor with this particular resume is the political act — not objecting to it.
Mamdani attended the World Trade Center 2 groundbreaking ceremony just weeks before the anniversary push began. The families noticed.
