BY LUIS ANGEL PEREZ MARTINEZ
On Saturday, August 30th, 2025, an organizer named Brandon Straka put together a “#WalkAway Campaign” event at Washington Square Park. The event featured a rally that opposed Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani. It included a panel that aimed to recruit the audience to join their campaign, fronted by a professed mayoral candidate, Joseph Hernandez.
The “WalkAway Campaign” began as a social media initiative that encourages individuals who identify as Democratic or Liberal to reconsider their political affiliation and walk away from the party. The campaign pledges to give its audience truthful information and restore their vision of ‘American values.’ It gained a significant following with the initial video quickly reaching nearly one million views.
Straka, the founder of the campaign, is an aspiring actor and hairstylist from New York City who participated in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Joseph Hernandez, who the campaign’s mayoral candidate, called for increasing housing availability, protecting the subways and their safety, and providing more ways to protect the citizens of NYC by increasing police presence.
Hernandez criticized his opponents, charging that their perspectives about reality are “false,” and he is more focused on “facts.”
Several signs held by participants expressed disapproval of communism and criticized the mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani. “Socialism=Slavery” and “Defund the Police? Ok-Next Time you need help. Call a Crackhead” were among those shown during the event.
Straka says he intends to engage with local residents to understand their perspectives and values, to persuade them to support his campaign. His central point is that socialism fails in general and is unsuccessful, and he vows to protect everyone from its potential negative impacts.
Chivar, who gave only his first name, said he has lived in NYC for many years, and voted for Curtis Sliwa, whom he has known since he was very young.
“Socialism doesn’t work in New York City, and a person like Zohran, he can’t run NYC; he isn’t even from New York City. He doesn’t have the experience; he’s from another generation. He’s trying to introduce ideas to New Yorkers who have been living there for aeons,” Chivar said.
The event featured speakers who criticized socialism and emphasized that “the spirit of New York would not die.” They claim that New York City is a city of capitalism, and the concept of ‘free’ is an illusion within the statement.
In nearby areas of the park, there were groups supporting Curtis Sliwa, and individuals were seen advocating for ‘Zohran 2025’ as they moved through the event. Still others seemed unwilling to commit to Walk Away or any other candidate.
Isaac, a “politically open-minded individual,” said, “There’s going to be people like this coming around still doing the same thing around election time. When election time I feel like I got no faith in none of this.”