As Zohran Mamdani prepares to assume office as New York City‘s youngest Mayor on January 1, he has appointed Mysonne Linen, a Bronx-born rapper-turned-activist with a felony conviction for armed robbery, as the latest addition to his transition team.
Linen has been appointed by Mamdani to be a part of the team’s public safety and criminal justice committees. Here’s all that we know about him.
Linen’s criminal past
In 1999, a Bronx jury convicted Linen, then aged 23, was accused of two armed robberies targeting taxi drivers. Prosecutors detailed how he and accomplices robbed Joseph Exiri, striking him with a beer bottle, and held up Francisco Monsanto at gunpoint in two separate instances, stealing cash and a ring, Fox News reported.
Both victims had also identified Linen in court. Facing up to 25 years in jail, Linen served seven before parole in 2006, denying all charges levied against him.
Activism and music career
Once signed to Def Jam with music slated for LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes projects, Linen pivoted post-prison to reform work.
According to New York Post, Linen also partnered up with anti-Israel activist and adviser of Mamdani, Linda Sarsour, to found the group Until Freedom, a social justice activism organisation.
Mamdani faces backlash for appointment
Critics like ‘Jews Fight Back’ on X labelled Mamdani’s new appointment to be “insane”, while law enforcement and conservatives decried putting a convicted robber in charge of crime strategy.
“New York City is being handed over to radicals, extremists and outright terrorists…Watch this space. This is going to get even uglier,” the group said.
“It is both disheartening and deeply disturbing that individuals who are convicted felons and have a history of breaking the law are being given the opportunity to help shape the future of New York’s criminal justice system,” Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said.
Other controversial appointments made by Mamdani
Another controversial appointee, identified as, Lumumba Bandele, was added to Mamdani’s transition team.
Bandele, a of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, has rallied behind cop killers in the past, including Assata Shakur and Herman Bell. Other contentious appointments include Shaakir-Ansari, co-director of the Alliance for Quality Education, who had also hailed cop killings, New York Post reported.