NYC Council Member Sues Council To Block Ethics Hearing Over Islamophobic Posts

NEW YORK CITY — A Queens councilwoman is suing the New York City Council in response to facing disciplinary charges for Islamophobic remarks she made on social media in recent months.

Republican Vickie Paladino in her lawsuit argued that the ethics complaint infringed on her First Amendment rights to free speech.

“By attempting to apply the Policy to public criticism over the internet, the Council intends to set a dangerous precedent for every legislator: if we don’t like your speech, we are coming after you,” according to documents obtained by the New York Post.

“The Council wants to assume the right and will thereafter have the obligation to surveil and police the speech of each and every Council member and staff to assure a ‘safe workplace.’"

Paladino is also accusing the council of targeting her and enforcing their own rules properly.

The councilwoman in her suit mentions a Feb. 12 meeting where Councilman Chi Ossé references President Donald Trump when he said, “There is a pedophile of the United States sitting in the White House."

"On information and belief, no disciplinary investigation has commenced based on Council Member Ossé’s outrageous accusation against a sitting president," according to the lawsuit.

On March 2, the City Council’s standards and ethics committee cited Paladino for “engaging in disorderly behavior and violating the council’s anti-harassment and discrimination policy.”

The council gave the councilwoman five days to submit a written response before appearing in a closed-door executive session in the coming weeks.

The proceedings could result in sanctions, including censure, fines, or, in rare cases, expulsion, but any final action would require approval from two-thirds of the 51-member council.

Paladino is seeking for all charges against her to be dropped and for a declaration that council members' private social media accounts can't be subject to censure.

Paladino has a long history of provocative social media remarks.

She previously called for the deportation of Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In 2023, former Speaker Adrienne Adams removed her from the City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction after she made disparaging comments about the LGBTQ+ community.