Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the county’s first Jewish executive, has demanded the resignation of Democratic leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton from her position in the county legislature after she likened his plan to enlist provisional deputy sheriffs to the Nazi Brownshirts.
DeRiggi-Whitton defended her remarks, stating that she was conveying constituents’ concerns over the plan, which she believes echoes unsettling times in history. Blakeman condemned her comparison as slanderous and antisemitic, emphasizing the sensitivity of such language, particularly given his Jewish heritage.
Executive Blakeman held a press conference this afternoon condemning the comparison of law enforcement to Nazis and the Holocaust. Notably, the speech was held at the Holocaust Museum in Glen Cove. Blakeman was flanked by local leaders, politicians, and Jeff Wiesenfeld who is the son of two Holocaust survivors.
Watch the powerful press conference below:
The last thing we need is to give volunteer wannabes guns and arrest powers. Come on Bruce. We have well paid and well trained police in Nassau, we don’t need this militia.