New Jersey’s longest-serving Muslim mayor said Monday he was blocked from attending a White House reception to celebrate an Islamic holiday.
Mayor Mohamed Khairullah of Prospect Park was blocked from attending Monday night’s Eid al-Fitr reception with President Biden, according to News 12 NJ. He told the news channel that the White House Social Office told him that the Secret Service decided he couldn’t enter.
“I guess I’m back to being accused of something,” the mayor told reporter Alex Zdan, referencing a 2019 incident where he was detained at JFK Airport.
A spokesman for the Secret Service confirmed that the mayor wasn’t allowed in.
“While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening. Unfortunately we are not able to comment further on the specific protective means and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House,” said Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Secret Service.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the White House to apologize.
“We call on the White House to override the Secret Service and reinstate the mayor’s invitation, disband the secret watchlist, and issue an apology to the Mayor,” the group told News12NJ.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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