9/11 victim’s son claims fiery 2019 remarks targeted at Rep. Ilhan Omar at Ground Zero got him banned from annual ceremony
The son of a 9/11 victim claimed he’s been “banned” from reading the names of the fallen at the annual Ground Zero memorial service — ever since publicly blasting Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2019 over her thoughtless “some people did something” description of the terror attacks.
Nicholas Haros Jr., whose mother, Frances, was killed while working in the south tower of the World Trade Center, went off-script while reading names at the 2019 Manhattan ceremony, aiming pointed barbs at the far-left “Squad” member while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with her infamously tone-deaf words.
“Madam, objectively speaking, we know who and what was done. There is no uncertainty about that. Why your confusion?” he said on live TV.
“On that day, 19 Islamic terrorist members of al Qaeda killed over 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars of economic damage. Is that clear?”
He continued: “I was attacked, your relatives and friends were attacked, our constitutional freedoms were attacked and our nation’s founding on Judeo-Christian principles were attacked. That’s what some people did.
Haros recently told The Post he’s proudly been part of the annual tradition of reading names at Ground Zero for years — but said he hasn’t been allowed back to speak since, claiming his tongue-lashing of the controversial congresswoman is to blame.
“It seems like since my last reading, I never get picked,” said Haros, 71.
Those who read names at the annual memorial service must apply to do so and are picked through a lottery. Haros, who’s been part of the tradition four other times, said he’s applied every year since 2019 to no avail.
“I find it highly unusual, considering my previous odds,” he said of not getting picked in five years. “The fact that I haven’t been called makes me a little suspicious. I would think the number of interested people [who want to read] decreases every year as time goes by.”
On the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in US history, Haros slammed the “biased” 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which oversees the ceremony, saying it “banned me from reading.”
But the museum offered a much simpler explanation.
“Each year, we receive many hundreds of requests from 9/11 family members to read their loved ones’ names aloud, more than can be accommodated, which is why a lottery process is utilized for selection,” it said.
Haros’ 2019 moment went viral when he laced into the Minnesota rep., who months earlier made false claims that the embattled Council on American-Islamic Relations group “was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”
He linked the “suspicious” snub to his outspoken rhetoric, which landed him on the front page of The Post the next day.
“Maybe I was just a little too controversial,” he said.
Since the fateful reading, Haros said he still receives a pass to attend the ceremony each year, “but that’s not the same as being accepted as a reader,” he said, noting how meaningful it is to honor all the victims, including his receptionist mother, who was 76 when she was killed while working on the 89th floor of the south tower.
“To be there on the anniversary is special” and “to read for my mom is even more special.”
Still, Haros said he doesn’t regret his fiery message to Omar.
As Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to visit the World Trade Center site on Wednesday, Haros said he’d prefer if the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate stayed away.
“It’s sacred ground. And I mean that literally. I don’t think she should be there,” said Haros, a Trump supporter, asserting that Harris is too soft on radical Islam and Hamas.
Haros, who “mourns terribly for those lost and their families,” will hold his annual private mass for his mother on the morning of 9/11.
He said he plans to spend the day being “reflective,” keeping those who were “taken up to heaven” in his thoughts.
“That’s what carries me forward,” he said.
