Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan, once accused President Donald Trump of inciting terrorism in a 2020 interview, citing a foiled plot to kidnap Gov.Gretchen Whitmer."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," El-Sayed said."We gotta ask: why are these people getting radicalized? Well, there must be 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 comments come as he wages a tight primary race against Rep.
Haley Stevens, D-Mich., with the Aug.4 primary now less than a month away.
His remarks also raise questions about his views on political rhetoric and its connection to violence.MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER HE STILL SUPPORTS DEFUNDING THE POLICEAbdul El-Sayed, candidate for U.S.Senate in Michigan, speaks before U.S.
Sen.Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., takes the stage at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
(Sarah Rice/Getty Images)His comments reference a foiled plan to kidnap Whitmer that first surfaced in 2020.A group of men associated with anti-government and militia circles, including the Wolverine Watchmen, allegedly planned to kidnap the governor from her vacation home in northern Michigan in an effort to end her COVID-19 restrictions.The plot was foiled in October by law enforcement before any attempt was ever made.Notably, The New York Times later reported that four of the 12 people charged in the alleged plot had been government agents or informants, prompting accusations of entrapment.Although President Donald Trump did not call for any kind of violence against Whitmer, El-Sayed said he believed the president was at least partially responsible, pointing to a tweet Trump had made six months before the discovered plot.WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS O...