By Arianna Hooker
A former staffer for leading Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing federal charges for alleged threats and vandalism against University of Michigan employees.
Mariam Muhammed Odeh, along with seven others, has been charged after their alleged conspiracies to threaten university officials, law enforcement and businesses such as the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, according to an indictment released by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The charges come after University of Michigan officials and their homes were targeted by vandalism between October 2023 and April 2025 in an attempt to force the university to cut ties with Israel, The Detroit News reported.
“Their criminal activity included spray-painting threats, breaking windows, and throwing glass jars filled with noxious chemicals into family homes. They marked their victims with threatening symbols used by Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints,” the indictment said.
Odeh attended the University of Michigan from 2020 to 2025 and worked for El-Sayed’s campaign between February and April 15, according to Michigan News Source. (RELATED: Top Michigan Dem Senate Candidate Accused Of Hiding Half-A-Million In Campaign Spending)
“In the dead of night, masked and hooded defendants allegedly threw noxious chemicals through the windows of families’ homes and taped demand letters to their front doors. At every step they attempted to cover their tracks and delete evidence of their crimes,” Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office said according to the press release.
Threats were spray-painted on the Jewish Federation Building on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel, according to the indictment.
Investigators alleged that the individuals discussed methods of using poison, bombs, and psychological torture against the targets and their families. Two individuals involved said they were going to “kill, torment, and terrorize their targets and families,” in 2024, the press release revealed.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – DECEMBER 16: Abdul El- Sayed attends the Detroit Association of Black Organizations (DABO) Christmas Party 2025 at the Bridge Center on December 16, 2025, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Monica Morgan/Getty Images)
“These alleged threats and attempts to terrorize government officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation are anti-American. We will counter intimidation with justice,” said Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, in the press release.
Michigan GOP Senior Communications Advisor Greg Manz said that El-Sayed, “struggled to condemn the attack on Jewish children at a Pennsylvania synagogue, publicly mourned the death of Iran’s Ayatollah, campaigned alongside known antisemite Hasan Piker.”
“Now a member of his own campaign staff has been indicted for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to threaten University of Michigan leaders over their ties to Israel,” Manz added.
El-Sayed has been endorsed by some pastors and a grassroots group known as Jews for Abdul (whose members seem to be mostly left-wing non-Jews). He also has the backing of Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
El-Sayed is leading in multiple recent Democratic primary polls according to a recent polling. He is vying for the Democratic nomination for Michigan Senate against Rep. Haley Stevens and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
