Darializa Avila Chevalier, a far-left congressional candidate backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, previously suggested that the United States has committed worse atrocities than Hamas.
Chevalier made the remark in June 2021 while responding to a post on X, then known as Twitter, that criticized comparisons between Hamas and the United States. The post said, “I agree the US wanton violence is categorically incomparable to the worst things Hamas has ever done or ever could do.”
Chevalier replied, “Only one is a nuclear power that’s ever used that kind of force 😶,” an apparent reference to the United States dropping atomic bombs on Japan during World War II.
Two minutes later, she added, “Not to mention the countless other forms of colonial violence that it’s enacted but you know 🙃.”
Her comments were made more than two years before Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which terrorists killed civilians and took hostages. Hamas has long been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and numerous other countries. The group has used suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and other deadly tactics, while also rejecting Israel’s right to exist.
Chevalier is running in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes northern Manhattan and parts of the western Bronx. She is trying to unseat longtime Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat. In addition to Mamdani’s support, she has also been endorsed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Her past social media activity has become a point of criticism in the race.
On Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas attack on Israel, Chevalier attended a Times Square rally that drew condemnation over its rhetoric and imagery. Some demonstrators at the event appeared to celebrate the attack, and swastikas were seen at the rally. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow democratic socialist, later said she was “appalled and horrified” by the event.
Chevalier has also faced scrutiny for other posts. In 2019, she tweeted a photo of a biracial couple while criticizing Black and Arab men for what she called “fetishizing ugly colonizer women.”
She also promoted a disputed COVID-19 theory claiming the virus originated in France, citing a Chinese Communist Party-linked propaganda outlet. The broader scientific consensus has placed the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, with debate continuing over whether it emerged from a market or a laboratory.
Chevalier has also used harsh language toward prominent Democrats. She referred to former President Joe Biden as a “rapist” and wrote, “F–k Kamala Harris,” referring to the former vice president and 2026 Democratic presidential candidate.
Biden has denied an allegation from a former Senate aide who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993. He has not been charged in connection with the accusation.
Espaillat, 71, has seized on Chevalier’s posts in the primary fight. His campaign released an attack ad highlighting her past comments and arguing that the 32-year-old challenger is not prepared to represent the district in Congress.
Chevalier’s campaign has tried to position her as a left-wing alternative to the incumbent, while Espaillat has emphasized his experience and sought to cast her as too extreme for the seat.
The race has drawn added attention because of Mamdani’s involvement. Mamdani, who has become a prominent figure on the city’s left flank, has appeared with Chevalier in campaign material and endorsed her bid.
