Deleted tweets on Darializa Avila Chevalier’s account had favorable references to communist leaders and Marxism

Key Points:

• Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the Democratic primary and was endorsed by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, maintained a now-deleted Twitter account with repeated references to communism, Marxism, and Soviet figures like Lenin.
• Her tweets included calls to "seize the means of production," abolish police, prisons, and borders, as well as controversial remarks about race and the American flag, sparking criticism and media scrutiny.
• Avila Chevalier, a Columbia University alumna and sociology PhD student, has been active in pro-Palestinian activism, including participation in a contentious rally shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel.
• She has stated that she has grown since those tweets and is focused on her community's future, while refusing to react to accusations of communism made by former President Donald Trump.
• Archived posts from 2020-2022 reveal her engagement with Marxist literature and ideology, including praise for revolutionary figures and critiques of capitalism, often expressed through humor and cultural references.