Michael Macko, the son of a man killed in the 1993 World Trade Center (WTC) bombing, said he is disappointed after an acquaintance of a convicted terrorist involved in his father’s death won a New Jersey House primary.
Democrat U.S. House candidate Adam Hisham Hamawy has faced scrutiny over his ties to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted of inciting the WTC bombing that killed six people and injured thousands in 1993.
Macko, a "lifelong Democrat" born and raised in New Jersey, expressed his dissatisfaction with Hamawy’s victory Tuesday in the Garden State.
"It’s just so disappointing… that this is the best candidate that we can come up with," Macko told "The Story" on Wednesday.
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His father, William Macko, a Marine veteran, was 57 when he was killed in the WTC bombing. He was having lunch in the basement when the bomb exploded in the parking garage.
"When your father was killed at the hands of terrorists while he was in his workplace, especially prior to 9/11 – which was just unfathomable… at the time – you become almost a single-issue voter," Macko said.
"This is just something that… I can't look past," he added.
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Hamawy met Abdel-Rahman, an influential leader among al-Qaeda terrorists known as the "Blind Sheikh," at a New Jersey middle school forum in 1991. He later testified as a witness for the defense in Abdel-Rahman’s case.
The New Jersey Democratic primary winner was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker.
Hamawy testified as a witness for the defense and has faced lingering questions about his association with the sheik.
"[Hamawy] also testified that the Blind Sheik was preaching about jihad against America, and then… at the same time, while actually plotting a jihad that killed my father," Macko noted.
While Abdel-Rahman did not directly participate in the WTC bombing, several of his followers did. He was later arrested on charges of a plot to wage "urban terrorism" against the U.S. by targeting landmarks, including the George Washington Bridge.
Hamawy’s campaign previously told Fox News Digital that his former affiliation with Abdel Rahman amounts to "guilt-by-association" shaming.
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Macko questioned claims from Hamawy’s campaign that the Democrat had no ties to Abdel-Rahman after the cleric’s arrest.
"It was the time leading up to him, you know the time that he spent with him, you know between 1991, 1993 when the bombing was being planned," he said.
"Hamawy was traveling with him around the country, acting as an interpreter. And even during the trial, he testified that he translated a fax in 1993," Macko added. "That's the year that the bombing took place. It's just too much of a coincidence that Hamawy did not have any idea of what was going on."
According to court testimony, Hamawy accompanied the Blind Sheikh to mosques, which, according to the Washington Free Beacon, is where several WTC bombing suspects would meet.
Court records characterized Abdel-Rahman’s Jersey City mosque as a "jihad office."
In a statement, Hamawy’s campaign wrote that the New Jersey Democrat "condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism."
