New York Attorney-General Letitia James has been booed by unruly firefighters who shouted Donald Trump‘s name as she gave a speech.
James was speaking at a New York Fire Department promotion ceremony on Thursday and the jeers began before she even took the stage.
No sooners than she was announced as the next speaker at Christian Cultural Center’s Brooklyn Campus, the boos were mixed in with cheers.
‘Come on, we’re in a house of God… simmer down… thank you for getting it out of your system,’ she said, before beginning her speech.
But the small, noisy section of the crowd did not simmer down, continuing to boo for another minute – then loudly chanting Trump’s name.
The firefighters were jeering James for her successful fraud lawsuit for the state of New York against Trump and his sons.
Trump was fined $454 million and banned from running a business in the state for three years after the trio illegally inflated the value of real estate assets.
Eventually the hecklers ran out of steam, until James ad-libbed her speech as she thanked the firefighters who tried to save her mother, who died of breast cancer.
‘Pray for those firefighters who stood with me when my mother was dying, and they worked on her for an hour in my house, not knowing who I was,’ she said.
‘I thank those members of FDNY who worked on her body and prayed over her body when she died. Some may even be here. Some might even be booing me. But nonetheless, I pray for them.’
This set off another round of booing alongside cheers from better-behaved sections of the audience.
New York Attorney-General Letitia James has been booed by unruly firefighters who shouted Donald Trump ‘s name as she gave a speech
The firefighters were jeering James for her successful fraud lawsuit for the state of New York against Trump and his sons
FDNY chief John Hodgens blasted the firefighters who heckled James at the ceremony for distracting from the eent.
‘Today’s ceremony was about one thing: the accomplishments of the members being promoted,’ he said.
‘The members whose behavior distracted from that celebration were an embarrassment and not befitting of the world’s best fire department.’
James’ office declined to comment.
Judge Arthur Engoron last month found Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr of civil fraud in the case spearheaded by James.
He ruled they conspired to inflate the value of properties on financial statements to banks and insurers, and altered Trump’s net worth to gain tax and insurance benefits.
‘From 2011-2021, Mr Trump and the Trump Organization knowingly and intentionally created more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets on his annual Statements of Financial Condition to defraud financial institutions,’ James office explained in 2022.
Trump made a rare appearance at the trial on October 3, and lost the lawsuit last month
James speaks outside a Manhattan courthouse on the day of the start of the trial
Independent officials will monitor Trump’s businesses in New York to ensure no further lawbreaking.
Trump has appealed the ruling, but faces mounting interest of $1 million every nine days until he pays up, and his assets could be seized if he doesn’t.
A Brooklyn firefighter told the New York Post the heckling was directly related to the lawsuit, which he claimed was a ‘witch hunt’.
‘She has no problem, bragging that she convicted Trump, so this is how hard-working New Yorkers, who put their life on the line, feel about her actions,’ he said.
Trump’s election campaign countered that James was ‘an embarrassment to the people of New York’ and that’s why she was heckled.
‘The rank and file of the FDNY know they have no greater friend than president Trump. The president is honored by, and grateful for their very vocal support,’ it said.
The ceremony honored 65 firefighters and civilian support staff who were promoted, and Reverend Pamela Holmes, who was appointed chaplain.
