Michigan Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has doubled down on his past accusations that President Donald Trump's rhetoric incited terrorism, specifically referencing a foiled plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In a 2020 interview, El-Sayed stated, "These are terrorists; we have to call them that. We have to recognize that that is what the face of terrorism looks like right now. We have to step up against it." He questioned the sources of radicalization, suggesting that "some radical, extremist cleric out there who may be tweeting up a storm about all the things that they think need to be done, like liberating Michigan."
El-Sayed's remarks resurfaced as he competes in a tight primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic nomination in Michigan. The comments also raise questions about his views on the connection between political rhetoric and violence.
The Whitmer Kidnapping Plot
The plot El-Sayed referenced involved a group of men associated with anti-government and militia circles, including the Wolverine Watchmen. According to reports, they allegedly planned to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home to protest her COVID-19 restrictions. Law enforcement foiled the plot in October 2020 before any attempt was made.
Subsequent reporting by The New York Times indicated that four of the twelve individuals charged in the alleged plot had been government agents or informants, leading to accusations of entrapment.
El-Sayed's Interpretation of Trump's Rhetoric
Although Trump did not directly call for violence against Whitmer, El-Sayed connected the president's actions to the plot. He pointed to a tweet Trump made six months prior to the discovery of the kidnapping plan: "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" This tweet was part of a series urging the "liberation" of Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota from COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Democratic governors.
According to FBI statements to local media at the time, the plot originated before Trump's tweet. However, El-Sayed viewed Trump's posts as indicative of a "cultural toxicity" that could foster violence. "The idea that people would threaten her safety because she was willing to stand up to keep us all healthy is, to me, the example of what the kind of toxicity that we see out of Donald Trump creates," El-Sayed said.
He further characterized the threat as coming from "radical, far-right White Supremacy and the terrorists who would undo our society’s basic norms and mores."
El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to requests for comment on whether his stance on Trump's rhetoric had evolved in light of the reporting on government informants involved in the plot. He is set to face Stevens in the state's Aug. 4 primaries.