Senate Candidate Grilled Over Past Anti-Police Remarks, Deleted Posts
El-Sayed Faces Scrutiny Over Social Media Activity and Past Statements
Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate vying for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, is facing renewed scrutiny over past public statements and deleted social media posts that appear critical of law enforcement. An unearthed clip from a 2018 campaign speech reveals El-Sayed accusing Michigan police of profiling during an address at Harvard University.
“We have a system of policing that seems to want to police on top of people rather than police with people,” El-Sayed stated during his previous gubernatorial bid. He elaborated, “The probability of closing a murder in Detroit is extremely low. And yet the cops will pick on you because you look a particular kind of way.” These remarks predate the widespread “Defund the Police” movement that gained prominence following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Social Media Activity Under the Microscope
El-Sayed’s past criticisms of law enforcement have resurfaced as he has worked to remove similar sentiments from his social media accounts. This effort to scrub his online presence comes despite the candidate’s stated rejection of divisive political rhetoric, which he claims pits “left” against “right” and “progressives” against “conservatives.” However, his messaging on certain key issues has drawn national attention for pushing the boundaries of typical party platforms.
Among his policy proposals, El-Sayed champions an expanded role for government. His platform includes lowering housing costs, advocating for Medicare for All, opposing corporate tax loopholes, and supporting tuition-free higher education. He has also previously called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Shift on Policing Stance
Like many Democrats, El-Sayed appears to be distancing himself from outspoken criticisms of local police departments, a departure from the “defund the police” stance that gained traction after the 2020 unrest. While the movement initially galvanized Democrats around increased police accountability, it later became a political challenge for the party amid rising crime rates in cities that had embraced its core ideas, such as Minneapolis, Portland, and Seattle.
El-Sayed has made a concerted effort to sever public ties with the “Defund the Police” movement on his social media. A June 2020 post on X, formerly Twitter, stated, “Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about.” This post has since been deleted, and El-Sayed has not provided an explanation for its removal.
Earlier Concerns About Police Behavior
Despite the recent deletions, some of El-Sayed’s earlier statements from his 2018 gubernatorial campaign suggest his concerns about police practices predated the events of 2020. In his Harvard address, he also commented on Michigan’s incarceration rates, stating, “We incarcerate 11% more people in the state of Michigan than the national average. We’re way better at violating people’s bodies for petty crime than we are in policing violations of their bodies for serious crime.”
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding these remarks and his social media activity.
