New York Democratic Rep. Richie Torres criticized his hometown's mayor, Eric Adams, for fining, but not firing, an employee accused of anti-Semitic vandalism that was caught on video.
“The city and state should have a simple message to anti-Semites,” Torres tweeted Sunday night. “You've been fired.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, moderate Democrats doubled down.
“Anyone who engages in anti-Semitic acts, such as tearing down hostage posters, will be fired,” Torres said. “I call on the mayor to do the same. Our city and state should not only preach, but practice zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.”
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Congressman Richie Torres speaks at a press conference. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Bronx congressman, who has frequently criticized the left wing of his party for its anti-crime policies and opposition to Israel, responded with the following statement: new york post Earlier in the day, an article claimed that staff in Adams' office had been paid to promote “unity” and “bridging cultural divides” depicting Israeli hostages kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas. It was reported that he was caught on camera tearing up the poster.
“If I was at the helm, [New York state] or [New York City] “The government does not need to apply for anti-Semites. Removing hostage posters is completely unacceptable and unacceptable,” Torres wrote.
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According to a page on the city's website that was available only in archived form Monday morning, the Mayor's Office of Special Projects and Community Events “organizes and plans public or private events and special projects that embrace and delight in the extraordinary. , will be carried out.” The cultural richness and range of our city. ” The list lists fewer than a dozen employees, including the one who allegedly appeared in the video tearing down the poster.
But by Monday afternoon, Adams' office took action.
“This individual has been suspended without pay pending further investigation,” the mayor's office told Fox News Digital.
Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, in what the State Department called “the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” They also took 254 hostages that day, some of whom were later killed.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams joins top NYPD leaders to discuss the Manhattan stabbing. (New York City Police Department)
Mr. Torres has been torn apart New York's Democratic leadership in recent days by hinting at the possibility of challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul.
He blamed the triple murders on widespread anti-Semitism and frequent anti-Israel protests in the city, as well as a failure to reform criminal justice.
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The suspect in the case, Ramon Rivera, is 51 years old and an eight-time repeat offender, most recently in prison for attacking a correctional officer in Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric ward.
“The DOC bureaucrats [Department of Correction] “The person who authorized Ramon's early release should be fired,” Torres wrote in a letter to Adams and Hochul last week. “Anyone who cannot be entrusted with public safety should no longer be employed by New Yorkers. Not,” he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke during a press conference with Attorney General Letitia James in the governor's office. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Adams also held Hochul partly responsible for the stabbing and called on the city of Albany to “give more authority” to the city's police department. institutionalize people'' he said at a press conference last month.
