Hundreds protest Nicole
Malliotakis’ objection to election
results, call for resignation
BY ROSE ADAMS
Hundreds gathered outside
a southern Brooklyn congresswoman’s
offi ce on Saturday to
protest her objection to two
states’ election results — arguing
that the voter fraud theories
she propagates helped
instigate the Jan. 6 insurrection
of the Capitol.
“Nicole Malliotakis took an
oath. Within 72 hours, she sold
us out,” said Bay Ridge Councilman
Justin Brannan. “This
isn’t about politics; it’s about
your moral fi ber as a person.”
Malliotakis, who also represents
Staten Island, spent
her fi rst days in Congress voting
against the certifi cation of
Pennsylvania’s and Arizona’s
presidential ballots because of
alleged voter fraud. She joined
121 other House Republicans
in her objection, and said she
did so to spur a “proper hearing”
into the allegations.
“I voted against certifi -
cation of the two challenged
states not to ‘overturn an election’
but to highlight need for a
proper hearing into unconstitutional
rule changes, irregularities
and alleged fraud,” she
wrote on Twitter on Jan. 7. “I
swore an oath to the Constitution
and REFUSED to turn a
blind eye.”
Many of the fraud allegations
argue that states’
COVID-19 voter accommodations
could have allowed
for forgery. Since the Nov. 3
election, President Donald
Trump’s administration has
launched 60 court challenges
based on the theories, but
judges have tossed all but one
case because of lacking evidence.
During the Jan. 9 protest
outside Malliotakis’ Bay Ridge
offi ce, seven elected offi cials
from across the city blasted
the congresswoman for continuing
to election challenges
even after the insurrection of
the Capitol, and said she must
either vote to impeach the
president or resign.
“She must vote to either
support the 25th Amendment
removal of President Trump
— because he is completely
and utterly unfi t, as so many
of us have known — and if not,
Demonstrators held up signs calling on newly-elected Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis to resign. Photo by Dean Moses
to vote to impeach him. That
is what she needs to do,” said
Boerum Hill assemblywoman
and borough president candidate,
COURIER L 12 IFE, JANUARY 15-21, 2021
Jo Anne Simon. “And if
she doesn’t do that, we need to
make sure that she goes.”
Assemblywoman Mathylde
Frontus — who has worked
alongside Malliotakis in the
state legislature — said that
the former Staten Island assemblywoman’s
behavior betrays
her personality.
“I sat down and had coffee
with Nicole Malliotakis, we’ve
enjoyed pleasantries. She’s a
nice lady. What is going on Nicole?
What is going on?” Frontus
said.
Meanwhile, more than
300 protesters chanted and
cheered during the remarks
of other speakers, including
Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams, City Councilman
and borough president candidate
Antonio Reynoso, Councilman
Brad Lander, and state
Sen. Diane Savino.
Later, a handful of local activists
stepped up the megaphone,
taking a more searing
tone.
In her remarks, Linda Sarsour,
a Bay Ridge activist who
helped organized the 2017 Women’s
March in Washington, DC,
implicitly blamed Democratic
incumbent Max Rose for Malliotakis’
victory.
“There’s another person
to blame and other people to
blame outside of Nicole Malliotakis,
because how did Nicole
Malliotakis get in there in
the fi rst place?” said Sarsour.
“If we actually had candidates
who were running against her
who were standing in their
convictions and principles …
we wouldn’t even be in this situation.”
Attendees cheered and
waved signs reading “Blood on
your hands,” and “Impeach or
resign.” But, one longtime Bay
Ridge resident, who attended
the protest alone, said he didn’t
think it was realistic to insist
Malliotakis resign.
“I don’t think she’s going to
resign; nobody’s going to resign,”
said Bill, who declined
to give his last name. “It’s going
to be up to the people to
push her out.”
The pressure on Malliotakis
has not faltered since her
election result challenge. At
least two petitions have circulated
calling on the New York
Congressional Delegation to
expel the congresswoman, and
protest attendees vowed to continue
pushing for Malliotakis’
resignation.
“I think that she’s despicable.
Her stance is to show loyalty
to Trump at all costs,” said
Bay Ridge resident Eleanor
Baylor. “The only thing that
can be done is for the community
to put pressure on her.”
In a statement, Malliotakis
thanked her constituents for
exercising their First Amendment
rights.
“I support every American’s
right to peaceful protest
and thank them as well as the
countless constituents who
have reached out to thank me
for upholding my oath and taking
a strong stand for election
integrity,” she said.