Visiting the 9/11 Memorial changed me; seeing Todd Beamer’s watch stopped time and made the loss painfully real, and the idea that someone tied to Islamist extremism could represent the district where Flight 93’s heroes lived is insulting and unacceptable.

I remember walking the 9/11 Museum and pausing at the watch taken from Todd Beamer, frozen at the moment his life ended. The image of that stopped time kept replaying in my head long after I left, because it puts a face and a family on statistics. That memory makes the stakes of politics in that district feel deeply personal.

Todd Beamer organized fellow passengers against hijackers on Flight 93 and uttered the rallying cry “Let’s roll” before the plane went down in Pennsylvania. He was 32 years old and left behind a wife and children, and his watch—recovered from the crash—serves as a raw, tangible reminder of what was taken. Visiting that exhibit, you feel how closely national security and local representation can intersect.

Now there is a nominee, Adam Hamawy, whose past associations raise alarms about his fitness to represent the very community where Beamer was laid to rest. If Hamawy wins, he would serve in the district that includes Cranbury, the town where Beamer lived, and that prospect feels like a slap in the face to families who lost loved ones on September 11. That connection turns an ordinary political contest into a moral test for the voters of that district.

Benson writes:

His final resting place, is in Cranbury, NJ — where he was living with his wife and children before his murder. Cranbury is located in NJ-12, where the new Democratic nominee for Congress is Adam Hamawy.

https://x.com/guypbenson/status/2062275366639612191

Hamawy was a close associate and translator to Omar Abdel-Rahman, aka the ‘Blind Sheikh,’ an arch terrorist convicted of masterminding multiple plots against targets in NYC — including the World Trade Center. Hamawy testified at Adbel-Rahman’s trial, as a defense witness.

It has also been reported that Hamawy traveled to Bosnia to volunteer at an organization that was later unmasked as an Al Qaeda front group. 

One of Hamawy’s loudest and most high-profile supporters and endorsers has openly declared that America deserved the 9/11 attacks. 

Hamawy is now the prohibitive frontrunner to represent Todd Beamer’s district in the United States Congress.

That report frames this not as mere political noise but as a direct affront to victims’ families and to anyone who lost someone on that day. The idea that a candidate with those ties could be embraced by prominent left-wing figures only deepens the injury felt by families and neighbors. This is not a theoretical concern; it is a question of judgment, character, and consequence for the people who live in that district.

And yes, Hasan Piker — who said guys like Beamer deserved to die that day — openly supports Hamawy, which intensifies the outrage for many. That support makes Hamawy’s candidacy a lightning rod for grief and anger, and it forces voters to confront uncomfortable choices about who should carry their values to Washington. The district deserves a representative who respects the memory of those lost, not someone linked to violent ideologies.

“… the last thing you do is enthusiastically campaign with a man who says America deserved 9/11. But that’s exactly what he chose to do,” Benson wrote. That observation lands hard because it highlights the absurdity of mainstream political alliances when they collide with moral clarity. Voters shouldn’t accept excuses when a candidacy so clearly offends the families of victims and the broader community.

We fear the bar hasn’t reached the bottom yet. That’s an excellent question, and someone needs to stop it. The public deserves answers and accountability before anyone with these associations wins an office that represents those who paid the ultimate price.

Todd Beamer and everyone on Flight 93 are heroes whose sacrifices shaped our national story, and electing someone with troubling ties to extremist networks would be an insult to that legacy. Local representation matters, and voters in that part of New Jersey should weigh these facts against the honor owed to victims and their families. Choosing a public servant requires common sense, respect for history, and a commitment to keeping our communities safe.

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