Exclusive | Ex-cop who derided socialist NYC pols now cozying up to Mamdani in bid for lefty assembly seat

Nypost · Apr 19, 2026 · 483 words · By Vaughn Golden

Political Alignment Shifts Political Opportunism

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/19/us-news/ex-cop-who-derided-socialist-nyc-pols-now-…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 85% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

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Name Calling / Labeling 75% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

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Appeal to Hypocrisy 95% confidence

Dismissing someone's argument because their behavior contradicts it.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

18 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 8

info Single Source 6

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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“An ex-NYPD lieutenant who supported Republicans for years has changed his tune and is now singing the praises of Mayor Zohran Mamdani as he seeks a lefty state assembly seat.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results report that Shamsul Haque, an ex-NYPD lieutenant who previously supported Republicans, has changed his stance and is now publicly supporting Zohran Mamdani while running for a state assembly seat.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 New York State Assembly election will be held on November 3, 2026. Democrats have held a majority in the New York State Assembly since 1975. It will be held alongside elections for governor, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_New_York_State_Assembly_e…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An election for the mayor of New York City was held on November 4, 2025. Democratic state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani won the election with 50.78% of the vote, defeating Republican activist Curtis Sliw…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_New_York_City_mayoral_ele…

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web search NEUTRAL — The NYPD officers who support Zohran Mamdani for mayor An interview with retired NYPD Lieutenant Commander Shamsul Haque, co-founder of the Bangladeshi American Police Association.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/personality/2025/07/nypd-offi…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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““My group will vote Republican this November,” Haque’s organization “Rise Up New York City” posted to X in February 2022.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is directly supported by a web search result citing the specific post, but the other evidence retrieved for this claim relates to unrelated topics (Republican Party symbols, Trump, other Haque individuals) and does not corroborate the specific 2022 statement.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russian war crimes are violations of international criminal law including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide which the official armed and paramilitary forces of Russia have …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_war_crimes

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Usman Haque (born 1971) is an architect and artist who works with technology. He is known for designing large scale interactive installations and his contributions to Interactive architecture and the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usman_Haque

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iqbal Manzoor Haque , commonly known as Bali Haque, is a New Zealand educator. His career has included four principalships, advocacy and support in a range of professional associations, serving as dep…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Haque

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“That same year, “Rise Up,” commenting on a photo of Democratic Socialists of America officials including Mamdani, wrote, “This team will ruin NYS.””

CORROBORATED

The claim is directly supported by a web search result detailing the exact comment made by 'Rise Up' in 2022 regarding DSA officials and Mamdani.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in New York will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the 26 U.S. representatives from the State of New York, one from each of the state's 26…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Re…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Haque and “Rise Up” supported and even campaigned alongside Brandon Castro — the Republican candidate for the 30th Assembly District seat he’s now running for himself — in 2024.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results confirm that Shamsul Haque is running for Assembly District 30 and supports Mamdani's agenda, but none of the retrieved evidence explicitly states that Haque and 'Rise Up' campaigned *alongside* Brandon Castro in 2024. The evidence only confirms Haque is running for the district and Castro is a candidate.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of candidates associated with the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries for the 2024 United States presidential election. As of December 2023, more than 400 candidates h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Republican_Party_presiden…

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web search NEUTRAL — The district overlaps with New York's 6th, 7th and 14th congressional districts, the 12th, 13th and 15th districts of the New York State Senate, and the 22nd, 25th, 26th and 30th districts of the New …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York's_30th_State_Assembly…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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“Since founding the group five years ago, Haque has posted numerous similar comments online about lefty politicians and groups such as the DSA and Working Families Party.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the web search results mention DSA and left-leaning politicians in general, they do not provide a comprehensive record or timeline confirming that Haque has posted *numerous similar comments* criticizing these groups since founding 'Rise Up' five years ago. The evidence is suggestive but not exhaustive enough to confirm the scope claimed.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 New York City Council elections were held on November 2, 2021. The primary elections were held on June 22, 2021. There were several special elections for seats vacated in 2020 and early 2021;…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_New_York_City_Council_ele…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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““When water, heating bills, and property taxes are going up, how do you expect a rent freeze?” Rise Up posted in 2023, responding to the the Working Families Party demanding a rent freeze.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is supported by the web search result, but no corroborating evidence from other independent sources was found to confirm this specific 2023 exchange.

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web search NEUTRAL — May 16, 2024 · OTC derivatives statistics at end-December 2023 From bis.org The overall notional value of outstanding OTC derivatives continued its upward trajectory. The year-on-year (yoy) change, wh…
https://www.forexfactory.com/news/1284265-otc-derivatives-st…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 25, 2024 · Ranked: The Top Performing Major Currencies (2014-2023) From visualcapitalist.com Monetary policy, geopolitical events, and economic conditions—among other factors—significantly influen…
https://www.forexfactory.com/news/1295528-ranked-the-top-per…

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web search NEUTRAL — Forex Factory connects traders to global financial markets with real-time data, charts, news, and the internet’s most trusted economic calendar for over 20 years.
https://www.forexfactory.com/

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““Your party has caused pain and suffering to working-class New Yorkers. Your party has supported extremist candidates in NYS,” Haque claimed.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results provide general historical context regarding working-class discontent (1863 draft riots) and general political commentary, but none of the retrieved evidence contains the specific quote attributed to Haque claiming a party caused pain and suffering and supported extremist candidates in NYS.

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web search NEUTRAL — The New York City draft riots (July 13-16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, [3] were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_draft_riots

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web search NEUTRAL — The New York Draft Riots occurred in July 1863, when the anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War sparked five days of some of the bloodiest and most ...
https://www.history.com/articles/draft-riots

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web search NEUTRAL — Reporting, Profiles, breaking news, cultural coverage, podcasts, videos, and cartoons from The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/

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“Rise Up’s X account also tweeted to DSA state Sen. Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn) in 2022, “Sometimes I wonder who is worse for our nation: Trump or DSA.””

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results confirm that 'Rise Up' interacted with Jabari Brisport, but the specific quote questioning whether Trump or the DSA was worse is not present in the retrieved snippets, making it a single-source claim based on the context provided by the search result title/snippet.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jabari Brisport is a public school teacher from Prospect Heights running for NY State Senate in District 25. He got involved in politics through the fight for marriage equality and the Black Lives Mat…
https://forgeorganizing.org/author/jabari-brisport/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jabari Brisport, one of Mamdani’s closest allies in Albany, was more blunt when speaking with City & State at Mamdani’s election night party. “I think (Hochul) should be primaried and defeated if she …
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/07/mamdani-prom…

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web search NEUTRAL — Tucker Carlson is one of the most attention-grabbing figures in American politics. For years he was an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, but since the outbre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tox2hr4dddM

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“But since declaring his assembly candidacy earlier this year, Haque has sharply pivoted toward supporting Hizzoner, including by hiring his election lawyer and associate, Ali Najmi.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim, and the evidence count confirms no relevant material was retrieved.

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““DSA is unequivocally in favor of taxing the rich, and I am in the same boat,” he told City & State New York in an interview after he announced his candidacy.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim, and the evidence count confirms no relevant material was retrieved.

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““They want to help the working-class people, and I’m in the same boat because I, too, come from the working class,” he said.”

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“Fewer than three years ago, Haque was on X railing against state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) for helping lead the resistance to a bid to have Amazon locate its new headquarters in the borough.”

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““Capitalism isn’t perfect; but, when you compare it with socialism, it is 100 times better,” Haque wrote.”

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““For the sake of our state, please resign from senate immediately,” he told Gianaris.”

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“Gianaris announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection, leading Assemblyman Steve Raga (D-Queens) to announce his bid for the state senate seat, thus opening up his 30th District assembly spot for contenders such as Haque.”

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“Queens Democrats are backing one of Haque’s opponents, Patrick Martinez, the son of a longtime City Council aide and nephew of former borough Dem boss Rep. Joe Crowley.”

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“Nepali Community leader Somnath Ghimire is also running.”

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“Raga easily defeated Castro by over 30 points in the heavily Democratic district in 2024.”

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Exclusive | Ex-cop who derided socialist NYC pols now cozying up to Mamdani in bid for lefty assembly seat

psychologyDetected Techniques

fact_checkFact-Check Results