A New York congressional candidate is facing renewed scrutiny after a series of deleted social media posts resurfaced, revealing past support for abolishing police, prisons and national borders, calls for seizing property from landlords, and statements rejecting the existence of Israel.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a progressive challenger to longtime Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District, has already attracted controversy over previous online remarks. As voters prepare for the upcoming Democratic primary, additional posts from her now-deleted X account have drawn fresh attention.
The messages, posted between 2018 and 2022 and uncovered through archived internet records, highlight a range of far-left political positions that critics argue place her well outside the mainstream. Among the most controversial was a 2020 response to a social media prompt asking users how they would react if Israel suddenly disappeared. Chevalier replied, “Trick question — Israel doesn’t exist!”
The resurfaced posts also show her advocating for the abolition of immigration enforcement and national borders. During a series of posts in September 2021, Chevalier wrote that a world without borders, prisons or police was both possible and morally necessary.
When questioned by another user about whether she was being serious, she doubled down on the position, writing that she literally supported abolishing borders and that all deportation was wrong.
The candidate also expressed support for several positions commonly associated with anti-capitalist and socialist movements. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, she reposted a message calling for the nationalization of hospitals, utility companies and pharmaceutical firms. The same post advocated suspending rent and mortgage payments, dismantling insurance companies and seizing properties owned by landlords.
In a separate 2019 post, Chevalier wrote, “Seize the means of production,” echoing a slogan long associated with communist and socialist political theory.
Her views on law enforcement were equally uncompromising. Amid nationwide protests and debates over policing in 2020, Chevalier rejected suggestions that activists should moderate the slogan “defund the police.” She insisted that the goal was not reform but abolition.
“We’re gonna defund and abolish,” she wrote in one exchange.
Two days later, she clarified her position even further after another user suggested the movement sought to end policing as currently structured. Chevalier responded that it meant ending policing entirely.
“No more police at all ever,” she wrote.
The latest revelations add to a growing list of controversial comments previously linked to the candidate, including posts criticizing former President Joe Biden during the 2020 election and remarks attacking various political figures from both the center-left and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Chevalier has since attempted to distance herself from some of the rhetoric. In response to renewed criticism, she argued that her opponent was focused on relitigating old social media posts instead of discussing current issues facing residents of Manhattan and the Bronx.
“My opponent wants to live in the past,” Chevalier said in a statement. “I have grown considerably since these tweets, and I am focused on our community and our community’s future.”
Despite the controversy, she continues to receive support from prominent progressive figures, including New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Defending his endorsement, Mamdani praised Chevalier as a fighter for working families and someone willing to challenge corporate interests, landlords and what he described as a broken political system.
The race remains one of the more closely watched Democratic primaries in New York, with renewed attention now focused on whether Chevalier’s past statements will influence voters as Election Day approaches.
