After making a lot of noise about how he was looking into arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came to the United Nations in September, Zohran Mamdani finally had to admit, in a humiliating way, that he didn't have any such power.
But in so doing, he also set the stage for a potential problem because he encouraged people to protest if they were upset.
Mamdani encourages New Yorkers opposed to Netanyahu and frustrated by inability to arrest him to protest during the Israeli leader’s visit in Sept.
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) July 22, 2026
“I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest… If anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something… pic.twitter.com/GvMIuVAmHr
“This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,” he told reporters at City Hall this week. “That New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter on whatever topic.
READ MORE: Mamdani Steps in It Again With New Netanyahu Remarks at Presser, Gets Offer From Rashida Tlaib
Epic Fail: Mamdani Finally Makes Humiliating Admission About His Threat to Arrest Netanyahu
That's a wild thing for any mayor to suggest in his own city, particularly given that leftist protest tends to involve chaos and violence. Even without chaos, it's putting an extra burden on the police (for a pointless and silly exercise because it won't change anything).
The police in his city were not happy campers as a result, and they're blasting him in the media.
“The mayor’s activist posturing puts police officers on the street in a terrible position,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said. “Protests during the UN General Assembly are nothing new, but when the mayor of the city is actively calling for demonstrations, violent agitators will assume they have permission to cause as much havoc as possible.
“Those same agitators know that the NYPD’s protest response is already hamstrung by the dangerous lawsuit settlement the city signed over the PBA’s opposition,” Hendry said. “The mayor’s heated rhetoric could be enough to push demonstrations over the edge into chaos.”
There was more:
“Was he serious?” one incredulous Manhattan cop asked.
“Cops just came off a crazy six weeks between the Knicks and the World Cup working long hours every day, and now he’s going to subject them to unnecessary problems,” the cop said.
One Brooklyn cop called Mamdani “nothing more than a cheap politician looking for cheap headlines” who knew — or at least should have known — that he “didn’t have the power” to arrest the prime minister.
Another department veteran added, “When will he realize that he is not an activist anymore?
“He should be governing the city and trying to keep the peace, instead of inciting a riot with his rhetoric,” he said. “He is basically telling the crazy people to do what they want, and there will be no repercussions. If a cop gets hurt, it will be on him, but that is the least of his worries.”
The Detective's Endowment Association skewered him in a post on X.
DEA President Scott Munro blasts Mayor Mamdani for urging protest after Netanyahu arrest fail. pic.twitter.com/XYFLx8Rxaq
— Detectives' Endowment Association (@NYCPDDEA) July 24, 2026
DEA President Scott Munro snarked that Mamdani "still acts like he's leading a protest movement instead of running the largest city in America." Munro said he was inviting agitators who look for "confrontation and violence," and the detectives would "pay the price."
Munro had another suggestion for Mamdani if he believed in the First Amendment: Perhaps the "96 unions in the New York State Public Safety Alliance" should show up outside of Gracie Mansion (the mayor's residence) and "let him experience first hand the consequences of encouraging protests without guardrails." He stressed, of course, that would be a "lawful demonstration."
Alrighty, now. Do you think they're mad? I think they're mad.
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
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