Patricia Heaton Backs 9/11 Families Opposed to Mamdani at 25th Anniversary Memorial

Calvin Freiburger : Aug 3, 2026
LifeSiteNews.com

"This anniversary is one of remembrance grounded in shared American values: respect for the victims, recognition of the gravity of the attacks, and a clear rejection of the ideologies that contributed to such violence..." -Patricia Heaton

(New York) — [LifeSiteNews.com] Pro-life Catholic actress Patricia Heaton gave her support to families of September 11 victims who say they don't want socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attend the upcoming 25th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero over the mayor's history of concerning remarks and associations regarding Islamist extremism. (Screengrab image: via Fox News)

As LifeSiteNews covered Tuesday, a petition to bar Mamdani from the event garnered more than 1,100 signatures in a week, 300 from victims' families. As of Friday morning, July 31, the petition is nearing 60,000 signatures.

"This anniversary is one of remembrance grounded in shared American values: respect for the victims, recognition of the gravity of the attacks, and a clear rejection of the ideologies that contributed to such violence," the petition reads. "For many families and community members, participation in these ceremonies carries an implicit expectation that those present uphold and affirm these principles without ambiguity."

Heaton, best known for her starring role on the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond who also serves as celebrity ambassador for the Christian humanitarian relief charity World Vision, endorsed the petition on July 27, telling New Yorkers to "keep it going." She has criticized Mamdani for his extremism on multiple occasions in the past:

The petition cites several reasons Mamdani's record is perceived as "hostile to these shared values," including his reluctance to condemn the rallying cry "globalize the intifada"; association with "individuals whose public statements or records are viewed by concerned family members as dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies"; Mamdani's own father writing in the wake of 9/11 that suicide bombers should be "understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism"; Mamdani himself blaming the United States for radicalizing al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki; the mayor's appointment of Ramzi Kassem, "who previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi (convicted in an al-Qaeda tanker bombing plot)," as the city's chief counsel; his endorsement of "candidates such as Aber Kawas, who described 9/11 as an attack 'a couple of people did in the context ofUScapitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia,' and who also expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue"; and more... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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