Protest Outside Gracie Mansion After Epstein Files Name Mayor’s Mother

Byline: New York — Supporters confronted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani outside Gracie Mansion on Monday after newly released documents tied to Jeffrey Jeffrey Epstein mentioned the mayor’s mother, filmmaker Mira Nair. Videos circulating on social media show a small but vocal crowd chanting and accusing the mayor of hiding information about his family’s connection to the records. Gracie Mansion was the scene of the confrontation.

“ We know about your mom. We were with you, Zohran. We voted for you, Zohran. We advocated for you, Zohran. You lied, Zohran. Shame!” one demonstrator can be heard shouting in the video, according to news outlets that collected clips of the protest. The protesters demanded answers from the mayor about why his family’s name appeared in the tranche of documents recently made public by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The reference to Mira Nair appears in a 2009 email in the release — an account by publicist Peggy Siegal describing an “after party” following the screening of a film. The item is one of millions of pages and files released under the broader disclosures tied to the Epstein investigation; news reports describing the email say it mentions guests at a gathering connected to Ghislaine Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse. Reporting on the documents emphasizes that being named in the files does not in itself allege criminal conduct.

Coverage of Monday’s protest so far has come largely from outlets that republished video clips and international wire reporting rather than from long-form investigative pieces in U.S. national papers. Background on Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who took office at the start of the year after a high-profile 2025 campaign — helps explain why the social-media footage drew rapid attention: his rise has been closely watched and any suggestion of family ties to high-profile scandals becomes politically combustible.

Fact-checkers and some outlets covering the documents have urged caution. Analysts note that the file mentioning Mira Nair is an incidental reference to a social event and does not allege wrongdoing; they also say the public papers do not show any direct connection between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Epstein. Still, local political opponents and some former supporters seized on the disclosure to press for answers, producing the confrontations seen outside the mayoral residence.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department has previously said that the release of the files is meant to provide transparency and that inclusion of a name in the records is not an allegation of criminal activity; reporting on this release has repeated that caveat. Video of Monday’s protest remains on social platforms and has been embedded in multiple news reports covering the fallout from the documents’ release.