Anti-Trump protesters demand answers from Malliotakis

Bay Ridge Democrats held a rally Jan. 9 to demand that U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis support the removal of President Donald Trump.

A large crowd gathered outside the congressmember’s office on Third Avenue and 77th Street to protest her decision to vote against President-elect Joe Biden’s certification after an attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters left five people dead.

“She voted to object on Wednesday after a mob that had been incited stormed the Capitol, and after five people died she continued to defend what she did,” said State Senator Diane Savino. “She had an obligation to people who were her voters that she could not make Donald Trump their president again and they needed to accept it.”

Savino said Malliotakis has an opportunity to redeem herself by joining with the other members of Congress to vote for impeachment and removal from office.

“Nicole Malliotakis took an oath, and within 72 hours she sold us out,” said Councilmember Justin Brannan. “There were Republican colleagues of hers who saw what happened on the Capitol and went back that night and did the right thing.”

Malliotakis has continued to defend her stance on social media, saying that Democrats in Congress have raised objections to every elected Republican president’s electors since 1989.

“When they do it, it’s ‘Democracy at work,’” she wrote. “Nancy Pelosi and other members objected to George W. Bush in 2005. At the time, she said, ‘This debate is fundamental to our democracy.’ The representatives of the American people in this House are standing up for three fundamental American beliefs: The right to vote is sacred; that a representative has a duty to represent his or her constituents; and that the rule of law is the hallmark of our nation.”

But protesters were angry that she hadn’t changed her stance days after the attack.

“As recently as yesterday, she still said she stood by her decision, and that was a slap in the face,”  said Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus. “We are begging you to step up and do the right thing. We are asking you to use sense to see what is going on.”

Malliotakis, who was sworn into Congress just days before the events at the Capitol, said, “It’s easy and politically expedient for my Democrat colleagues to bully and attempt to silence the only Republican voice our city has in Washington. They may be willing to turn a blind eye to obvious irregularities and alleged fraud, but I refuse to.”