Democratic New York State Senate candidate Christian Amato has confirmed a photo of him carrying an “ACAB” sign during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
Amato was spotted at the protest, which was countering a Back the Blue event in the Bronx, holding an “all cops are bastards” sign, the New York Post reported.
The photo was taken by Bronx resident Wayne Gurman, who said “It’s laughable that Amato is running for Senate … He’s a weasel beyond belief”.
Amato admitted to the Post that it was him in the photo, but claimed he did not realize what he was carrying.
“Someone passed me the sign and I didn’t know it said, ‘ACAB.’ I had no clue,” he said. “I totally grabbed the sign in haste”.
Amato is running for the state senate seat currently held by his former boss, Democratic Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who is running for a seat in Congress.
James Gisondi, a lawyer who is also running in the Democratic primary for NY Senate District 36, said Amato is “Unfit to hold public office at any level”.
The Post reported that “Amato said he took part in the counter-protest because he thought it was ‘tone deaf’ to hold a pro-cop rally just days after the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis”.
“The officers deserve our respect. But we need our officers to be culturally cognitive,” Amato said. “When there is social unrest, it is not the best moment to hold an event. You have to read the room”.
