Fact Check: Was Mamdani kicked out of Katz's Deli after entering with pro-Palestine activists?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A rumor is circulating on social media platforms claiming that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was kicked out of Katz’s Deli, an iconic Jewish eatery, after entering with pro-Palestine activists with flags and signs. The rumor has triggered mockery and criticism against the mayor, along with online users calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Zohran Mamdani got kicked out of Katz’s Deli

According to a viral post that surfaced on X, Mamdani got barred from Katz's Deli after walking in with pro-Palestine activists.

The post also claimed that they even made him a free sandwich just to get him out, after which the police served him the ‘No Trespassing’ notice.

“We told them they were welcome as long as they put away their flags and signs,” a staff member of the 120-year-old eatery allegedly said.

“We made him a sandwich for free to get him out of here, then we had the police serve him with a no trespassing notice.”  

The post has been shared by multiple accounts, garnering more than a hundred thousand views as of this writing.

Fact Check: No such event has occurred

However, the claim is rated as false, as there are no reports of such an event occurring at the Deli involving Mayor Mamdani.

If the rumor was true, given its sensationalism, prominent news media outlets would have widely covered it, triggering controversy and debates, but a search for the claim on Google yielded no news reports. There are also no reports of the Deli’s staff member making such a remark. 

The search results also revealed that the claim originally spread in early July this year and originated from a Facebook parody account called ‘America Loves Liberty.’

The original post even had an overlay text on its bottom corner which reads, “Nothing on this page is real.”

Zohran Mamdani faces 9/11 ceremony backlash

The claim resurfaced ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, where the mayor is facing growing protests from the families of the victims against attending the ceremony.

As of the latest reports, 600 retired Port Authority police officers are urging Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul not to attend the Ground Zero commemoration. 

The Port Authority Retired Police Association, representing former officers from the state, has formally told both elected officials to stay away from the memorial ceremony.

However, elected officials have been barred from speaking at the Ground Zero ceremony since 2012 to keep the ceremony completely nonpartisan.