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Story summary
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani handed a ceremonial 9/11 pen to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem.
- Mamdani signed an executive order designating September 11 as a citywide Day of Remembrance.
- Critics on X called the pen handoff disrespectful toward 9/11 victims and families.
- The mayor’s office said Kassem received the pen because his team drafted executive orders.
- Kassem previously represented Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty to an al Qaeda-linked ship bombing.
