A Department of Justice civil rights official has warned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration about discriminating against white people.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon issued the warning after Mamdani appointed far-left activist Cea Weaver as the city’s new “tenant advocate,” a move that has reignited concerns that the new administration’s housing agenda is driven more by ideology than equal protection under the law.
Dhillon put City Hall “on notice” after the resurfacing of an old video in which Weaver argued that America must move away from treating property as an individual right and instead shift toward viewing property as a “collective good,” embracing “shared equity.”
In the clip, Weaver said this transition would require families — “especially white families” — to have a “different relationship to property” than the one they currently have.
That rhetoric set off alarms across social media and among legal watchdogs who say such language can signal discriminatory intent in policy-making.
Dhillon responded directly on X, stressing that discrimination based on race is illegal regardless of who is targeted.
“New York: Consider this your official notice from @TheJusticeDept,” Dhillon wrote, adding, “We will NOT tolerate discrimination based on skin color. It is ILLEGAL.” She also noted the Civil Rights Division is “paying very close attention.”
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Dhillon amplified the warning during an interview on OANN’s “Fine Point with Chanel Rion,” arguing that equal rights apply to all Americans and that the DOJ will intervene if New York City violates federal civil rights law, the Washington Examiner reported.
“Just because you’re white doesn’t mean you have fewer rights in this country,” she said, adding the administration is “on high scrutiny.”
The New York Post on Sunday detailed additional controversy surrounding Weaver, including a trail of now-deleted social media posts in which she urged followers to “seize private property” and described homeownership as “a weapon of white supremacy.”
In another post, she called for voters to “elect more communists” and later blasted law enforcement during the 2020 unrest following George Floyd’s death.
Weaver’s background includes membership in the Democratic Socialists of America and work with Housing Justice for All.
The Post reported she also advised Mamdani’s 2025 campaign and played a central role in lobbying for tougher rent stabilization laws in 2019.
Critics warn that Mamdani’s broader housing agenda could further punish landlords and property owners, including his push to freeze rents on roughly one million rent-regulated apartments.
Humberto Lopes, founder and CEO of the Gotham Housing Alliance, told the Post that the approach is misguided, pointing to the long-running failures of government-run housing.
For conservatives, the issue is bigger than New York’s housing debate.
It is about whether the largest city in the nation is drifting toward race-based governance and anti-property ideology, and whether Washington will enforce the law before that agenda becomes policy.
