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WATCH: Dem Senate hopeful caught plotting to silo conservative media outlets with top aide
By Alec Schemmel
Published April 15, 2026
FIRST ON FOX: Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed was caught on a livestream asking a top campaign aide to separate conservative reporters — whom he referred to as "bogeys" — from the rest of the press after a campaign event with Hasan Piker last week.
The hot-mic moment came as Piker’s crew was live-streaming backstage ahead of the event, when El-Sayed's communications director Roxie Richner told him and Piker, "We’re going to do the quick scrum with Fox, the Free Beacon and those folks," prompting El-Sayed to ask, "Could you separate, like, the bogeys, from everyone else?"
After Richner responded in the affirmative, El-Sayed fist bumped her before Piker swooped in to let the pair know they were being filmed.
The candid moment followed days of blow back El-Sayed faced for holding an event with Piker, the controversial podcaster who had to walk back comments saying Americans deserved 9/11, justified Hamas' attacks and slaughter, including rapes, on innocent Israelis, and recently told his followers that "you really don't need suicide bombing anymore," because cheap Chinese-made drones can be bought online for anyone who is interested in performing a terror strike.
Streamer Hasan Piker, left, and Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, center right, take a selfie with young fans following a campaign event, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
El-Sayed responded to those concerns by insisting his goal was to ensure his message speaks to a "broader audience" that has felt left out of contemporary politics, during an interview just days before the event with Fox News' Bill Hemmer.
He told Hemmer that he was talking to him, despite the fact that they frequently disagreed, for precisely that reason of trying to engage with broader audiences. "When I said I’ll talk to anyone, I meant it. I’ll be on Fox News at 9:15am with Bill Hemmer," El-Sayed tweeted ahead of his talk with Hemmer earlier this month.
Piker quickly swooped in after the fist-bump was caught on camera to tell Richner and El-Sayed that he was filming. The trio quickly separated, but the camera kept rolling as it followed a visibly bothered Piker.
"Probably some progress being made," Piker's camera operator said after the trio had separated, and the live stream settled back on Piker, who had walked away and began guzzling a bottle of water. "I don't think so," Piker responded as he continued guzzling the water bottle.
Richner, El-Sayed's staffer seen fist-bumping him, told Fox News Digital that the campaign took questions from a "broad scrum" after the event that day, as well as after a second event held later the same day at Michigan State University. Richner also reiterated El-Sayed's claims that he welcomes conversations with people of all political stripes.
"Following both rallies, our campaign took questions in a broad scrum that included all press who attended: local news outlets, student reporters, and national outlets that spanned ideologies," Richner said. "We go everywhere and talk to everyone."
DEM SENATE CANDIDATE TAKES SWIPE AT JOE ROGAN AFTER REFUSING TO DISAVOW HASAN PIKER'S PAST COMMENTS
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. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images)
Since entering the race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, El-Sayed has faced blow back for staking out fringe anti-Israel and anti-law enforcement positions, like abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and blaming Israel for committing "genocide."
Fox News Digital previously reported how El-Sayed quietly deleted old social media posts he made online espousing support for the "defund the police" movement between 2020 and 2021, including calling the police "standing armies we deploy against our own people."
Meanwhile, recently uncovered audio showed El-Sayed didn't want to publicly say anything about the death of Iran's Ayatollah Khamanei because he was worried some Michiganders might be "sad" following the terror regime leader's death.
El-Sayed recently faced criticism for campaigning with Piker, who has been slammed for justifying Hamas' attacks and slaughter, including rapes, on innocent Israelis, was forced to walk back comments about how Americans deserved 9/11, and told his followers that "you really don't need suicide bombing anymore," because cheap Chinese-made drones can be bought online for anyone who is interested in performing a terror strike. Piker sympathizes with communist ideals, but has labeled himself a socialist and Marxist while rejecting communist labels. At the same time, Piker has also described communism as the "honorable end goal" of socialism.
Streamer Hasan Piker hands his energy drink to producer Mauricio Miranda before going on stage to speak at a campaign event for Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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When asked at his event with Piker whether he would disavow any of the controversial podcaster's comments, El-Sayed would not, and defended the far-left podcast and internet personality's emerging position in the Democratic Party.
"It's an active decision to reach out to people who feel locked out of their politics to have a conversation, just like I'm making an active decision as somebody who is running in the Democratic primary to have a conversation on Fox News," El-Sayed said to Hemmer about his decision to campaign with Piker. "Just because you invite somebody to campaign with you, or you’re engaging with them, does not mean that you agree with them."
El-Sayed's Democratic Party primary election, against a slew of other formidable candidates, will take place in August, followed by the general election in November.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-senate-hopeful-caught-plotting-silo-conservative-media-outlets-top-aide