FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Pearl River, NY – 8/12/2024… Today, the Lawler for Congress campaign and law enforcement unions from across the Hudson Valley and New York City released the following statement slamming Mondaire Jones for leading the charge to let cop-killers vote from prison while serving their prison sentences. Jones voted for his amendment on the House Floor, as did Hakeem Jeffries.
The measure, co-authored by Jones in the 117th Congress, would have let all prisoners vote regardless of the crime committed. This would have included the criminals behind the 1981 Brink’s Robbery in Rockland County and dozens of cop-killers in New York’s prisons today. Mondaire Jones even went so far as to say that not letting cop killers vote from jail was a “form of slavery.”
In contrast, Congressman Mike Lawler introduced legislation in the State Assembly that would have ensured cop-killers don’t qualify for parole and has the support of most law enforcement unions. Lawler also voted against a similar measure to Jones’ in the State Legislature.
“Extremist Mondaire Jones is so radical that he wants to let cop-killers, child rapists, and murderers vote from prison,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Chris Russell. “In 2021, fresh off the heels of his defund-the-police 2020 campaign, Mondaire Jones again doubled down on extremism, co-authoring an amendment to the For the People Act, H.R.1, which would have allowed all criminals, regardless of the crime committed, to vote from prison.”
“From trying to defund the police, blaming them for ‘white supremacy,’ to even letting those that kill cops vote, it’s clear Mondaire Jones can’t be trusted with any seat in public office ever again,” concluded Russell. “Voters in the Hudson Valley will make that overwhelmingly clear this November when they reject radical Mondaire Jones and his divisive, extreme ideology once and for all.”
“Cop killers and murderers are some of the most heinous and dangerous criminals. Their actions devastate families and cause unimaginable heartbreak,” said Vincent J. Vallelong, President of the NYC Sergeants Benevolent Association. “I cannot imagine how any elected official could justify allowing them to vote from prison. It defies logic and is an affront to all common sensibilities.”
“It’s appalling that former Congressman Mondaire Jones believes convicted felons, including cop-killers and murderers, deserve the right to vote from prison. For Rockland County, it’s especially disgusting. This amendment by Mondaire Jones would have given the terrorists who committed the 1981 Brink’s Robbery and those who killed Paula Bohovesky, a sixteen-year-old Pearl River girl, the right to vote from behind bars,” stated Larry Ayers, President of the Rockland County PBA, and Pat Casey, Public Information Officer of the Rockland County PBA. “It’s wrong, it serves no legitimate purpose other than political pandering, and it’s exactly why Rockland County needs to send extremist Mondaire Jones packing this November.”
“Mondaire Jones’ decision to introduce and vote for legislation that would allow cop-killers, terrorists, and serial killers, like the Son of Sam, to vote from prison is a perfect example of how radical he really is. It’s bad enough that he wants to defund the police and call us racist, but now he wants to let those who kill our brothers and sisters in the line of duty vote? Disgusting,” said Keith Olson, President of the Associated Police Associations of Westchester. “All Hudson Valley voters should reject Mondaire Jones’ extremism at the ballot box this November. If he can’t stand up to cop-killers, how on earth can we expect him to stand up for anything in Washington?”
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