Hawley staffer heckles El-Sayed at Michigan townhall
The gist
A heckler at a Caro, Michigan town hall asked Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Handbasket later reported the man was Thomas Teepell, a former Hawley staffer.
How it unfolded
- Oct 17, 2026At a town hall in Caro, Michigan, a man identifying himself as "Tommy" shouted a question at Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed asking whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Oct 17, 2026El-Sayed questioned the man for nearly five minutes about the Constitution and religious freedom, compared the "dual loyalty" question to those asked of John F. Kennedy, and asked him to disavow attempts to read religion into the Constitution; the man refused and left the room.
- Oct 18, 2026The Handbasket reported first that "Tommy" is Thomas Teepell, who according to his X and Facebook profiles lives in Detroit.