(The Center Square) — The New York Republican Party is backing embattled New York City Councilwoman Vickie Palladino’s legal fight against democrats over claims she violated ethics laws by making “Islamophobic” statements.
In a statement, New York State Republican Party chairman Ed Cox said the party “stands unequivocally” with Paladino “in her fight against the radical New York City Council’s political and vindictive charges.”
“Islamophobia’ is a term used to browbeat the weak into submission to distract from the very real threat of Islamic extremism,” Cox said. “Vickie Paladino is not weak – hers is a powerful voice for truth and moral clarity in an era when too many Democrats – especially Zohran Mamdani and his wife – make common cause with radical Islamic terrorists.”
Two weeks ago, the City Council’s standards and ethics committee voted to charge Paladino for remarks she’s made on social media over the past few months, criticizing newly appointed members of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration.
Council Speaker Julie Menin, a Democrat, called for the ethics committee vote, describing Paladino’s comments as “unacceptable and deeply Islamophobic.”
Paladino blasted the ethics committee’s vote as “politically motivated” and filed a preemptive lawsuit last week seeking to block the council from taking a final vote on the committee’s recommendations to censure her. A state Superior Court judge denied Paladino’s request for a temporary restraining order, but set a hearing for early April to consider the legal challenge.
“The council intends to set a dangerous precedent for every legislator: if we don’t like your speech, we are coming after you,” Paladino’s 28-page complaint states. “The council, through the mere specter of discipline in this manner, has set a precedent that is highly likely to chill not only petitioner’s future speech, but speech of other legislators for fear of reprisal by the majority party.”
The legal fight stems from a series of comments posted by the Queens Republican on social media calling for the expulsion of Muslims from western countries and suggesting that the U.S. should impose a ban on the Islamic religion.
In her posts, Paladino said Western governments should restrict Muslims from living within their borders. She also reposted a number of tweets expressing similar sentiments, including one that called on governments to “ban Islam.”
But Cox pointed to the attempted terrorist attack by two Pennsylvania men who tossed explosives into a crowd of anti-Mamdani protesters outside Mamdani’s official residence, the attempted bombing of a Jewish daycare center and the shooting death of an ROTC instructor at Old Dominion University as recent incidents motivated by Islamic extremism.
“Anyone focused on the ‘Islamophobia’ red herring rather than the very real threat posed by Islamic extremism and poorly vetted mass migration is doing the bidding of America’s enemies,” he said.
