On Monday, GOP mayoral aspirant Curtis Sliwa disclosed that he is under constant security due to “credible” threats against him, urging him to abandon his unlikely candidacy — a claim the NYPD has stated they have no record of.
Sliwa’s campaign, highlighting his background as the founder of the Guardian Angels, a group known for subway patrols, announced the need for a security detail of retired and off-duty officers after threats were also directed at his wife over the weekend.
Sliwa is under considerable pressure to step aside, allowing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to face off against socialist Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, in the upcoming general election, following Mayor Eric Adams’ recent decision to withdraw from the race.
At a press conference on Monday, Sliwa maintained that he did not blame rival campaigns for the threats but noted a “frenzy of individuals who seem unstable believe I should withdraw or it would spell disaster for New York City.”
During an interview on WABC, he remarked, “These are lone-wolf individuals, but they’re being incited by the constant calls for me to drop out.”
Sliwa, who previously ran for mayor in 2021 and endured being shot five times in what was believed to be a mob-related incident, said this situation marks the first occasion in his life he requires round-the-clock security.
He stated that “some of these threats have been quite credible,” even though the NYPD had no documentation of them.
“There are no reports of credible threats to the NYPD,” a spokesperson for the department reported via email on Monday.
Sources in law enforcement informed The Post that the police department has not received any reported threats against Sliwa.
According to Sliwa’s spokesperson, he and his wife Nancy have a meeting arranged with the NYPD for Tuesday, asserting that the campaign’s head of security and the NYPD’s chief of intelligence have been in communication.
However, a spokesperson for the NYPD denied this, stating there has been no communication or scheduled meetings.
His campaign is footing the bill for this security, according to his spokesperson.
Previously, Sliwa alleged that he has been approached with bribes to withdraw from the race by Cuomo’s influential backers, a claim that the former governor’s campaign has strongly rejected.
Despite the increasing pressure, Sliwa has repeatedly stated he will remain in the race.
The need for heightened security for Sliwa coincides with a rise in political violence across the nation, and comes after Mamdani, who secured an easy victory in the Democratic primary in June, was also compelled to obtain security last spring following a wave of vicious threats.
