The Detroit Metro Times announced this week that it will no longer seek comment from the Senate campaign of Republican Mike Rogers, saying his campaign has repeatedly made “bigoted attacks” against his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed.
Metro Times investigative reporter Steve Neavling made the announcement on X, writing that it was the first time in the paper’s history it had taken such a step.
“For the first time in @metrotimes history, we’re no longer seeking comment from a candidate’s campaign because of repeated lies and bigoted attacks. That candidate is Mike Rogers, whose campaign keeps targeting Abdul El-Sayed’s Muslim faith,” Neavling wrote.
In a report, Neavling accused Rogers of lying by claiming El-Sayed hasn’t disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood. He pointed to a town hall this week where El-Sayed, asked to denounce the group, answered, “Sure, yeah, absolutely.” Neavling also pushed back on claims tying El-Sayed to a statement that “America deserved 9/11,” a remark that was actually made by left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, a prominent El-Sayed supporter, not by El-Sayed himself.
Neavling further accused Rogers of exaggerating his counterterrorism background, specifically regarding his claimed role in the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
According to the report, when Metro Times asked Rogers’ campaign about those claims for an Oct. 8 story, the campaign declined to answer specific questions. Instead, it defended Rogers’ record and repeated an allegation, which Neavling called unfounded, that El-Sayed received money from terrorist organizations.
Other disputed claims
Neavling’s report also examined Rogers’ attacks on El-Sayed over public safety, women’s health and the auto industry. He wrote that Rogers’ own voting record includes opposing additional police funding, backing proposed cuts to women’s health services, and voting against measures meant to steer manufacturing work to U.S. companies.
The report also addressed claims from the Rogers campaign that El-Sayed wants to ban gas-powered vehicles. Citing Bridge Michigan, Neavling wrote that El-Sayed has supported the Green New Deal’s clean energy goals but has not directly called for a ban. During a July primary debate, El-Sayed opposed an electric vehicle mandate and said Michigan should keep producing internal combustion engines while building out EV infrastructure.
Neavling noted that Rogers himself once promoted a shift away from gasoline vehicles as an opportunity for Michigan workers. In an August 2008 message to constituents, Rogers praised the Chevrolet Volt and described a future in which “clean, green cars run for hundreds of miles without using gasoline.”
Separately, El-Sayed’s denials of family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood came under scrutiny last week after social media posts surfaced from his half-sister, who alleged that family members, including their mother, had been involved with the group.
Neither the Rogers campaign nor the Detroit Metro Times responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. El-Sayed was questioned earlier in the Democratic primary, held in July, about describing himself as a “physician” despite not being licensed to practice medicine, though he holds a medical degree.
