Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, has a relative who is a far-left professor that was arrested last year on a felony charge for her alleged involvement in an anti-ICE protest. Eman Abdelhadi, El-Sayed's half sister and an associate professor at the University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Human Development, was booked on Oct. 3, 2025, after allegedly spitting on an Illinois state trooper during a protest outside an ICE detention facility in Broadview.
Abdelhadi was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of resisting/obstructing peace, a Class A misdemeanor. A day before her arrest, she was interviewed on a podcast called "Movement Memos," affiliated with the publication Truthout. During the interview, she described federal immigration officials as "terrorizing our communities" and stated, "it felt really important to join protesters out there to say, not in our city, not in our name, not in our backyard."
Abdelhadi has also expressed strong political views, asserting that "there’s no center left" and that individuals are "either resisting or you’re complicit." She announced her support for El-Sayed's Senate bid on April 17, 2025, posting on X, "The feeling when you think you’ve accomplished a lot but then your older brother runs for senate!!! In all seriousness— Abdul is fighting for healthcare, housing, and an economy that serves people over oligarchs. I am a proud little sister."
The shared parent of El-Sayed and Abdelhadi is Fatten Elkomy, who works as a psychiatric nurse practitioner in Missouri. Abdelhadi was raised in Missouri, while El-Sayed grew up in the Detroit suburbs with his Egyptian-born father and American stepmother.
Prior to her arrest, Abdelhadi gained attention in July 2025 for criticizing the University of Chicago during the Socialism 2025 conference. Describing the institution as "evil" and a "colonial landlord," she questioned the value of focusing political energy within the university. However, she also stated that her position as an employee offered "access to thousands of people that I could potentially organize" and "possible structural leverage."