Divine Allah speaking at a press conference for Trenton city council president Kathy McBridge on 26 February 2021 (Twitter/Reed Gusciora)
A rally in Trenton, New Jersey descended into chaos after a speaker called the city’s first openly gay mayor a “little f****t”.
Speaking on the steps of the city hall, Divine Allah, a New Black Panther Party leader, lobbed homophobic slurs at Trenton’s gay mayor Reed Gusciora during a rally on Friday (26 February). He described Gusciora, who was elected in 2018, as a “little f****t” and a “white boy mayor”.
Allah also referred to Jewish people as the “true enemy” and labelling white people as “crackers”.
The rally was after Trenton council member Jerell Blakeley called the council president Kathy McBride an “illiterate crackhead prostitute” during a coronavirus briefing last year. The incident became public after The Trentonian discovered it amid dozens of transcripts the city was forced to hand over as part of a public-access suit.
Blakeley claimed he apologised for the remarks after news of the comment surfaced in the local media.
Gusciora shared a 2-minute clip from Allah’s speech on the steps of Trenton’s city hall with the caption: “Another day in Trenton”.
Another day in Trenton. pic.twitter.com/fMkAIDjUzF
— Mayor Reed (@gusciora) March 2, 2021
McBride told The Trentonian she was shocked by Allah’s use of a homophobic slur, saying he is an “activist on the militant side”. She said the use of a homophobic slur “wasn’t my message; that was his”.
“Small things hurt people, and the brother spoke, and I didn’t like that,” McBride said.
Gusciora said he was appalled by Allah’s speech. He told The Trentonian: “They’re having a press conference condemning hate with more hate on city hall steps.
“Can’t make this stuff up.”
He explained the local government is “trying to open the city up for development and for people to invest in our city”, but “we’re holding ourselves out as a bunch of haters”. Gusciora said: “That no outsiders needs apply, including gays and Jews.
“It’s just unfortunate and shouldn’t be representative of our city.”
In a post on Twitter, Gusciora added: “Hate should have no place in the capital city.”