The City Council Democrats have decided to abandon their planned disciplinary measures against a Republican politician who made controversial statements on social media, The Post has uncovered. The remarks, which called for the “expulsion of Muslims,” were posted by Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a move to resolve the issue, the Democratic-led City Council agreed to drop the disciplinary action on the condition that Paladino withdraws her lawsuit and removes the title “council member” from her X account. She had already deleted the contentious tweets prior to this agreement.
Paladino, 71, initiated legal proceedings in March, asserting that her First Amendment rights were being violated after the council’s Ethics Committee lodged a complaint against her. This complaint had the potential to result in disciplinary actions, including a formal censure.
The settlement, which was reached in the Manhattan state Supreme Court under the oversight of Justice Sabrina Kraus, marks a truce between the two parties, as detailed in documents obtained by The Post on Monday.
“The disciplinary charge against me has been withdrawn, and I have withdrawn my lawsuit,” Paladino stated in an announcement included in the settlement. She clarified, “My personal social-media posts were not directed at any Council Member or staff. I am responsible for the content, which was intended as commentary on policy and important public matters. I never intended to make Council Members or staff feel unwelcome or unsafe in their work environment.”
“I am responsible for the content, which was intended as commentary on policy and important public matters. I never intended to make Council Members or staff feel unwelcome or unsafe
in their work environment.”
Following last year’s antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in Australia that killed 15 and wounded dozens of others, Paladino said posted a series of X posts aimed at Muslims and saying action needed to be taken to prevent “another 9/11 or worse.”
“We’re in the midst of a global jihad the likes of which the world has never seen, and we cannot ignore it,” she wrote. “We need to take very seriously the need to begin the expulsion of Muslims from western nations, or at the very least the severe sanction of them within western borders.”
Queens Democratic Councilwoman Sandra Ung, chair of the ethics panel, confirmed that the council dropped its disciplinary case against Paladino.
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“I appreciate that CM Paladino took down her tweets,” Ung said in a statement. “I believe the resolution strikes the right balance between protection of Council staff and the First Amendment liberties of Council Members. I have met with CM Paladino and told her that I did not approve of the content of her tweets.”
Attorney Jim Walden represented Paladino.
Courts usually require final action or exhaustion of remedies before weighing in on the alleged harm of disciplinary action. But in this case, the council initiated proceedings but did not end up punishing Paladino.
Walden had argued that Paladino was subjected to a disciplinary process that was allegedly unconstitutional.
