DETROIT (Diya TV) — Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faces renewed scrutiny over a 2021 blog post that compared former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack with Osama bin Laden’s role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
El-Sayed wrote the post several years before his 2026 Senate campaign. He argued that the United States should hold Trump accountable for his conduct before and during the Capitol riot. He also said the country should send a strong message that attacks on American democracy carry consequences.
The comments have gained new attention as Republicans target El-Sayed’s past statements and political associations. At the same time, his campaign says critics have misread his comparison and falsely suggested that he called for Trump to face the death penalty.
In the post, titled “Why aren’t we treating Donald Trump like we treat other terrorists?,” El-Sayed described the Jan. 6 attack as an act of terrorism. He said Trump “recruited, radicalized and reassured” the rioters in a way he compared with bin Laden’s influence over the 19 hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks.
El-Sayed also connected the two events to his own memories. He wrote that he watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center from his high school chemistry classroom. Nearly two decades later, he said, the Capitol attack brought back the pain he felt that day.
However, El-Sayed did not argue that Trump should receive the same punishment as bin Laden. Instead, he called for legal and political accountability. He said Congress had a constitutional and moral duty to convict Trump and prevent him from seeking office again.
El-Sayed also pointed to the U.S. response to bin Laden. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011. El-Sayed said the action showed that attacking the United States carries a cost.
His campaign has rejected claims that the blog post supported Trump’s execution. Spokeswoman Roxie Richner said El-Sayed advocated legal accountability, not a specific punishment. She said El-Sayed believes that no person, including the president, stands above the law.
The controversy comes as El-Sayed faces broader scrutiny over his past political statements. During his Democratic primary campaign, he drew criticism for appearing with streamer Hasan Piker. Piker previously made a controversial comment about the Sept. 11 attacks.
El-Sayed has rejected Piker’s 9/11 remark. However, he has not disavowed Piker and has described demands for a complete break with him as an example of “cancel culture.”
Meanwhile, critics have accused El-Sayed of removing older online material before his Senate campaign. They have pointed to deleted or private content that included past comments on the Second Amendment and other political issues.
