When Jalil Abdul Muntaqim took the podium to address the lawmakers during the public forum section of the Monroe County Legislature meeting, several Republican legislators walked out of the chamber.
Now, an advocate for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people is criticizing the GOP walkout.
Muntaqim, born Anthony Bottom, was convicted in 1971 for the killings of two New York City police officers, Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones. The Republican conference said in a previous statement that the decision to leave was made out of respect for the murdered officers and in solidarity with law enforcement.
Advocates respond to GOP walkout
Jose Saldaña, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons and a crime survivor, released the following statement March 11 in response to the walk out.
“We are offended by the actions of these Republican county legislators. As an elected official, you have a responsibility to listen to and represent all your constituents, including those you may have strong disagreements with.
Jalil was given a parole-eligible sentence, served nearly half a century, and was lawfully released because the parole board finally recognized that he presented zero risk to community safety and only sought to be of service to others. In fact, that is exactly what he was doing on Tuesday night in speaking out for those facing housing challenges and advocating for concrete solutions — the very things legislators should themselves be doing.
At RAPP, we support all victims and survivors on the path toward healing, and we successfully advocated alongside campaign partners to expand access to the state’s Victim Compensation Fund for marginalized people who had been excluded for decades.
We also object to artificial hierarchies of victimhood, whereby politicians pretend that the life of a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, a delivery worker, an electrician, or a Black man in prison like Robert Brooks matters less than that of a person who works in law enforcement. The politicians who abandoned their posts engage in no such protests when the law enforcement agency that killed Daniel Prude [Editor’s note: Prude died in police custody; his death was ruled a homicide by the Monroe County medical examiner.] comes before them.
As a formerly incarcerated person myself and a crime survivor I find it disgusting when Republican lawmakers refer to us as less than human. One [NYS Senator Dan Stec at a rally in 2024] even called incarcerated people ‘animals’ and faced no repercussions. The racial overtones are unmistakable and should not be accepted.”
‘A flailing attempt at pageantry’
Citizen Action of New York, a statewide grassroots membership organization, released a statement criticizing Republicans for making a so-called “flailing attempt at pageantry” when faced with community advocates putting forward a plan to help their constituents in the greater Rochester area.
The advocates were there to “speak to (legislators) on the topic of increasing the amount of housing vouchers in Monroe Country for the first time since it was set in 1990 at a dismal $440 per month,” Citizen Action said.
“They claimed moral outrage and stormed out, abdicating both their seats and their responsibility to their constituents, all of whom have a right to an equitable voice in a democracy,” the statement continued. “The members of Rochester Citizen Action stand shoulder to shoulder with special events coordinator Jalil Muntaqim who through his work has continuously and diligently improved the lives of the people in his community in Rochester.”
Walkout meant to ‘show respect to slain officers’
Peter Elder, chairman of the Monroe County Republican Committee gave a window into the minds of the Republicans who chose to walk out during Muntaqim’s speech.
Committee members who “briefly walked out” of Tuesday night’s legislative meeting while Muntaqim spoke did so “to show respect for the slain officers and solidarity with law enforcement, arguing that although Muntaqim has the legal right to speak, they would not give legitimacy to a convicted cop-killer,” Elder said.
Muntaqim was convicted for his role in the 1971 murders of NYPD Officers Piagentini and Jones and was later charged in connection with the killing of San Francisco Police Sgt. John Young, Elder noted. Law enforcement groups have also criticized his release from prison.
“The legislators returned to the chamber immediately after his remarks, and the meeting continued without delay,” Elder said.
The Democrat and Chronicle contacted the Republican Conference of the Monroe County Legislature for comment on the walkout and was told the conference didn’t have a statement.
Note: This story was updated with further statements from advocates and officials.
— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Advocates criticize GOP walkout at Muntaqim forum
Reporting by Kerria Weaver, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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