Heckler who questioned Abdul El-Sayed is son of Republican adviser paid for influencer marketing

FLINT, Michigan — A man who questioned Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood at a Michigan town hall is the son of a Republican political operator. The operator's firm was paid $250,000 for canvassing and influencer marketing against El-Sayed, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

The man was first identified by the Handbasket as Thomas "Tommy" Teepell. He asked El-Sayed whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed said he would, then asked whether the man assumed he would not. The exchange has drawn more than 50 million views across several social media platforms, according to the Guardian.

The Guardian reported that Timmy Teepell's firm, Breakthrough LLC, received the payment on 29 September from America Next, a non-profit group. According to a filing with the Federal Election Commission, the money would fund canvassing and influencer marketing in opposition to El-Sayed. Timmy Teepell is a longtime strategist for Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

Timmy Teepell, Thomas Teepell, America Next and Hawley's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nothing in the filings shows that Thomas Teepell was paid by Breakthrough or America Next.

CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford apologized on X on Sunday for a post praising the heckler. She said she had deleted the post because it violated CBS News standards. Her post had called El-Sayed's response a "spectacular self-own." Journalists and media commentators criticised the post, and it reportedly prompted internal criticism at CBS News.

The Michigan Senate race is between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. Religion and Middle East policy have been recurring campaign issues.

Background

America Next is a 501(c)(4) group that Jindal launched as a policy non-profit in 2013, according to the Guardian. The group does not disclose its donors. The Guardian reported that its tax filings showed $5,066,000 in contributions in the year to July 2024.

The Guardian reported that the only independent expenditure America Next has reported since 2015 is the $250,000 payment to Breakthrough. The Guardian also reported that a member of the University of Michigan College Republicans, saying he was acting for America Next, reportedly offered students $200 to boo and question El-Sayed at a town hall in Flint on 1 October.