Watching Zohran Mamdani get chased out of a Letitia James rally by a protester yelling “Antisemite!” was priceless. The socialist mayoral candidate from Queens loves a protest, but not when he’s the target.

The man doing the shouting, identified as Raul Rivera, followed him through the park, yelling for him to denounce Sharia law and Hezbollah. And a brief shoving match broke out, too. But the real story isn’t the chaos; it’s how Mamdani’s campaign is being powered by taxpayer money.

We’ll get to Raul Rivera, the man shouting down Mamdani, in a minute.

Everyone’s been passing the clip around, and yeah, it’s satisfying to watch.

NOW: Counter protesters rushed after Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani shouting “Antisemite”, later pushing flag into another politician’s face. This is during “Hands Off Tish James” Rally in NYC. pic.twitter.com/lzRZXDiqAM

— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) October 10, 2025

But while most people were laughing at the video, I ended up going down a different rabbit hole after reading The Daily Caller’s piece about it. They mentioned something about Mamdani’s campaign money being “multiplied” by New York City’s public matching system. Well, it caught my attention, so I had to go find out for myself what this all meant.

The incident comes as Mamdani faces growing scrutiny over his campaign funding sources. The political newcomer has raised close to $16 million, far outpacing his opponents in private donations, the New York Post reported.

With $5 million cash on hand, he has built a substantial war chest heading into November’s general election.

New York City’s public financing system matches local contributions up to eight times the first $250, amplifying small-dollar donors. Mamdani has received contributions from controversial organizations and individuals, according to reports.

Five staff members from the Islamic Circle of North America contributed $1,300 to his campaign, generating $7,700 in total funds through matching. The Council on American-Islamic Relations donated $100,000 to a Mamdani-aligned political action committee, the outlet reported.

College and university workers provided more than 2,000 individual donations to the candidate. New York academics at various institutions contributed just over $105,000, or up to $690,000 when boosted by matching funds. – The Daily Caller

Turns out, Mamdani’s campaign isn’t just running on small-dollar donations from his activist base. It’s being supercharged with taxpayer money. Maybe you already knew that, but I sure didn’t. And if I didn’t, I’m guessing plenty of others didn’t either.

A System New Yorkers Never Approved

The program, created by the NYC Campaign Finance Board, takes small campaign donations and multiplies them up to eight times with funds from the public purse. This public matching program was not voted for by NYC residents.

In plain English, if someone donates $100, the city adds $800. The idea, according to the city’s own campaign finance board, is to “amplify” everyday donors and make campaigns less dependent on big money.

But in reality, it means taxpayers are helping fund politicians they may not even support.

In Mamdani’s case, reports show he has pulled in millions in matching funds in past cycles. One outlet puts him at $2.8 million in matching funds after raising around $640,000. He is among the top recipients this cycle.

It may be legal, but that does not make it right.

No one ever voted to use public money for political campaigns. It is a system politicians built for themselves and then sold to the public as reform.

Now, back to that protest for a second. I am not calling Raul Rivera a hero. He’s the same guy who was arrested earlier this year for allegedly biting one of Mamdani’s campaign volunteers. Biting someone is not exactly civil debate. But there is still some irony in the fact that Mamdani, a man who celebrates loud, disruptive activism, could not handle one protester shouting him down.

He has spent years preaching about economic justice, attacking big money, and promoting radical politics. Meanwhile, his campaign is being padded by a system that redistributes other people’s money to fund his message.

It was satisfying to see Mamdani get shouted out of the park, no doubt. But the real problem isn’t one loud protester. It’s a system at City Hall using taxpayer money to prop up campaigns like his.

Maybe New Yorkers should be chasing City Hall instead and asking why they are footing the bill for radical politics dressed up as reform.

Feature Image: Original Artwork by VG, Darleen Click