El-Sayed campaign faces questions over hate statement on website

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 02:19 · Archive

A line supporting a synagogue attack appeared on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's campaign website; the campaign removed it but did not investigate.

A line supporting a truck attack on a synagogue appeared in a transcript posted on Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's campaign website. The text stated 'it was and he should have done it' immediately following El-Sayed's statement that violence could never be justified in response to the March attack on Temple Israel and its preschool in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson discovered the additional text while reviewing El-Sayed's speech transcript and alerted the campaign in spring. The campaign promptly removed the line, but Johnson said he received no explanation of how it appeared or who was responsible. He publicly flagged the issue on X on Monday, stating he still lacked answers about the error.

Johnson told the New York Post that his experience in political campaigns suggested access to campaign materials is tightly controlled, and he did not believe El-Sayed himself had written the line. Johnson called for clarity: 'Clearly there's been an error. Who's error that was – I'm asking.' El-Sayed faces separate scrutiny from his Republican opponent Mike Rogers over his family's alleged historical connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Rogers raised during a CNN interview.

How it is being reported

• Mike Rogers presses CNN's Dana Bash on why the press is 'eager' to defend Abdul El-SayedMichigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers accused the press of being eager to protect his Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed on CNN's "State of the Union."Fox News · 19 Oct, 01:59
• Fury over El-Sayed camp’s refusal to probe hate statement that appeared on his websiteMichigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing a firestorm over a despicable line of text found on his campaign website that backed a trucker who targeted a synagogue -- and his campaign did nothing to hold any potential digital saboteur accountable, The Post has learned.New York Post · 17 Oct, 15:49

In this story: Abdul El-Sayed · Michigan · Temple Israel · Lon Johnson · Mike Rogers · West Bloomfield

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