University of Michigan Student Arrested After Shoving Conservative Activist at Campus Islam Event
Photo: Daily MailA University of Michigan student was arrested on Sunday after video showed her attacking conservative activists at a campus event, two days before Tuesday's U.S. Senate election in Michigan. The footage shows her shoving Liz Benichou, a young Jewish conservative, to the ground during an exchange at a table whose sign asked whether Islam is compatible with the West. Earlier, the student clapped in the face of one of two men at the table, who told a campus police officer she had smacked him; she denied it and said she had witnesses. Benichou, who posts as @basedinmalibu, asked the woman what would happen to her if she walked around Iran like that, and the woman then lunged at her. As she was restrained and put in a police vehicle, she screamed profanities, said she would hit someone again, and said she should have killed Benichou. Independent journalist Cam Higby shared the video and identified her as a supporter of Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who faces Republican Mike Rogers. Police have not publicly identified her.
Right-leaning outlets the Daily Wire and Daily Mail are covering the story. The Daily Wire leads with the political link, saying Higby identified the attacker as an El-Sayed supporter. Its headline calls the incident a violent attack after an "Iran reality check," and it quotes the Iran question and her threats. The Daily Mail calls her a "woke" student who went "ballistic," and its excerpt does not name El-Sayed. It narrates the lead-up in detail: the clapping, her questions about a campus permit, her denial, and comments about Benichou's attire. Both note the arrest, the Sunday timing, the sign, Benichou and the Senate race, but differ on the attacker's political attribution and on ideological labeling. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and independent outlets had. TMZ's coverage largely matches the right's focus on the video and the arrest.
How the sides differ Right sources stress the attacker's reported El-Sayed support and ideological label; alternative sources focus on the video and arrest; left sources have not covered it.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
Not covering this story. None of the left-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
TMZ headlines the arrest and video, describing a heated argument over Islam in which a student shoved a Jewish MAGA activist and said she should have killed someone.
Daily Wire and Daily Mail lead with the video and Benichou being shoved. The Daily Wire ties the attacker to El-Sayed through Cam Higby, while the Daily Mail calls her a "woke" student and details the lead-up.