NEWBURGH – Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine’s invitation to the feds to hold civilian trials for the terrorists is being met with negative reaction.

State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R-Red Hook) said he was “absolutely stunned that we could actually have elected officials welcoming terrorists to the Hudson Valley.”

He said it is “insulting to cite economic gain out of the loss of thousands of lives and the loss of a global economic symbol.”

Civilian trials would be “nothing more than a spectacle and an insult, where the terrorists spout their hatred and try to inspire others to commit heinous crimes,” Molinaro said.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who represents Newburgh, told MidHudsonNews.com Friday that he would have to learn more about Valentine’s proposal.

“I don’t know for sure what he’s thinking about, but if there were adequate security and things were done in the appropriate way, it might be effective, but I would have to learn more about what he is suggesting,” Hinchey said.

Congressional candidate Nan Hayworth, meanwhile, believes they should be tried before a military tribunal.

“There should be no civilian trial in Manhattan, no civilian trial in the Lower Hudson, no civilian trial period for enemy combatants who staged an act of war against the United Stated on September 11, 2001,” said Hayworth, who is a Republican candidate for the 19th Congressional District.