New York, New York - New York Governor Kathy Hochul was slammed for invoking Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy on what would have been his 94th birthday to push a controversial judicial nomination.

The Democratic politician appeared at Trinity Church in Brooklyn and Primitive Christian Church in Manhattan on Sunday, using the occasion of MLK's birthday to promote Hector LaSalle, whom she supports as the next chief state judge.

LaSalle has been accused of pushing a conservative anti-abortion, anti-labor agenda. His opponents, including more than 100 progressive organizations and labor unions, pointed to past decisions in which he gave a pass to discrimination based on skin color in jury selection, protected anti-abortion centers from legal scrutiny, and allowed a large corporation to sue union leaders.

Despite this concerning record, Hochul has remained staunch in her support of LaSalle, and even had the gall to invoke MLK, famously a workers' rights and racial justice leader, in her defense of the controversial nominee.

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"It should not have taken this long for a person of color, a Hispanic, to lead the highest court in our state, and he will," Hochul said of LaSalle. "He deserves to be treated the same way as every other candidate was."

"That's the justice, that's the fairness, that's required by all of us – not just through our teachings, not just through Christ's teachings, but also through the influence of Dr. King whom we honor this weekend," she continued.

"How many people want their names maligned and their reputation smeared and the lies told about them? None of us want that," the governor said during her second speech. "That’s what Dr. King would expect [of] us in a non-violent, peaceful way."

"The NAACP forcefully opposes NY Gov. Hochul's conservative, anti-choice, anti-civil rights pick for chief judge of NY's highest court," civil rights attorney and former public defender Scott Hechinger tweeted. "Among his awful decisions, he ruled prosecutors could exclude jurors based on their skin color. Yet she has the gall to invoke MLK's name."

On top of that, Hochul, who is white, stoked further controversy by arriving at Trinity Church with a police entourage.

Video footage shared on Twitter shows NYPD officers surrounding Genesis Aquino, executive director of Tenants & Neighbors and an Afro-Latina member of the church, and ushering her out of the building during Hochul's speech.

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Aquino's crime? Standing up to say to Hochul, "I pray that you withdraw LaSalle."

Hochul's behavior fits a pattern of white politicians twisting the words of MLK to support their positions, while silencing Black people who try to speak out.