A man who questioned Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a town hall has been identified as a former Republican staffer, according to an independent report. During the weekend event in Caro, Michigan, the man, who identified himself as "Tommy" pressed El-Sayed on whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed responded, "Sure.
Yeah, absolutely," and the question prompted an extended back-and-forth during which El-Sayed accused the man of questioning his loyalty to the U.S. Constitution due to his religion. A five-minute video of the confrontation posted to social media by El-Sayed has since gone viral on social media, with more than 12 million views on X as of Monday morning, drawing a divided response.
The Handbasket identified the man who posed the question to El-Sayed as Thomas Teepell, and reported that he lives in Detroit, citing social media profiles. It added that he held the role of Operations Director for Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley until February, according to Legistorm records. Following this, Teepell worked as Political Director for the Kansas gubernatorial campaign of Philip Sarnecki, a Republican businessman, The Handbasket reported.
The article added that Teepell is the son of Timmy Teepell, a Republican strategist who it noted had worked for congressman and then Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal from 2004 to 2011, as well as Jindal’s presidential primary campaign in 2015. The Handbasket also reported ties between Timmy Teepell and pro-Trump Christian singer Sean Feucht, who attracted attention in 2020 with a tour protesting the COVID-19 lockdowns. It pointed to a 2024 Religion News Service article, which featured a picture that appeared to show Feucht praying over the Republican strategist and Tommy.
An X account reviewed by Newsweek and bearing the name Thomas Teepell featured a banner image showing him alongside Hawley, though Newsweek was unable to verify that the account belonged to him. The account had also shared several posts from Sarnecki, Hawley and Feucht. Newsweek has reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment via email.
Newsweek also contacted Hawley’s and Sarnecki's representatives for confirmation of details in The Handbasket’s report. Additionally, Newsweek reached out to a social media account bearing Thomas Teepell’s name and image. El-Sayed, who is competing against Republican Mike Rogers in the November 3 election for the seat being vacated by Senator Gary Peters, has faced questions over allegations about possible connections between his family and the Muslim Brotherhood.
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