Abdul El-Sayed Defends Sister-in-Law's Terrorist Watchlist Lawsuit

Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed confirmed that his sister-in-law, Mariam Jukaku, was a plaintiff in a 2016 federal lawsuit challenging her placement on the Terrorism Screening Database. The acknowledgment occurred during a confrontation with Fox News shortly before former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign for El-Sayed on October 24.

El-Sayed defended Jukaku, stating she committed no wrongdoing and attributed her placement on the list to a system where individuals are treated as guilty until proven innocent based on their names. He claimed Jukaku successfully sued to be removed from the list. However, court records indicate a federal appeals court overturned a ruling favoring the plaintiffs in 2021, and a separate damages lawsuit was dismissed in 2017. Jukaku had previously alleged she underwent extensive security screenings at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in 2012.

Republican rival Mike Rogers described the allegations as disqualifying. El-Sayed responded by criticizing Rogers' support for the Patriot Act and flock cameras. The controversy follows the announcement by Senator Gary Peters that he would step down at the end of his term. El-Sayed's campaign has also dismissed separate claims of Muslim Brotherhood connections as racist and untrue.