Army Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad's family declined to have NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani speak at her funeral Friday in Ozone Park, Queens, according to the New York Post. Mamdani attended the service at Calvary Assembly of God with prepared remarks but was not called to deliver them.
Rampersad, 28, was one of three U.S. service members killed July 17 during an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
According to sources present at the funeral, the family is conservative and supports President Trump. They reportedly chose not to include Mamdani in the speaker lineup to avoid "political distractions" during the service.
Mamdani sat in the fourth row while other dignitaries addressed mourners. According to attendees, he reviewed his prepared remarks on an iPad as New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., and local community leaders delivered tributes. One source told the Post: "They kept calling names and then he was never called."
The source said Mamdani "looked over at his staff, frustrated and seemed angry that he didn't speak."
After leaving the funeral without delivering remarks, Mamdani's press team released his prepared speech to media outlets as "remarks as prepared." In the text, he intended to say: "Sergeant Rampersad had tomorrows waiting for her: birthdays, ordinary mornings, evenings spent with her loved ones. But she gave every one of them up so that we could have ours, so that we could stand here today, safe and protected."
Mamdani's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the incident.
The exclusion reflects broader tensions surrounding Mamdani's tenure as mayor. Families of 9/11 victims have previously urged him not to attend the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero, though Mamdani has rejected those calls. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has criticized Israel and U.S. military operations, remains a divisive figure among some segments of the New York electorate and families with military connections.
