Jewish Woman Assaulted at Michigan Campus After Confrontation
Jewish woman assaulted at University of Michigan after heated campus debate over Iran.
2 min read
A supporter of Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed violently attacked and repeatedly threatened a young Jewish conservative at the University of Michigan on Sunday during a free-speech event. Independent journalist Cam Higby shared video of the incident, which shows Liz Benichou being shoved to the ground and attacked. Higby identified the attacker as a supporter of El-Sayed, who is challenging Republican Mike Rogers in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate election in Michigan. Police have not publicly identified the attacker.
Confrontation Over Iran and Western Values
The confrontation began during a discussion about Islam and its compatibility with Western values. Benichou, participating in the exchange, asked the attacker, “If you walked around in Iran like this, what would happen to you?”
The question set the woman off. She immediately lunged at Benichou, violently shoving her to the ground as bystanders scrambled to intervene.
“Don’t f*cking talk to me like that!” the woman screamed after tackling Benichou. “You wanna f*cking get over here, b*tch?”
The attacker continued hurling profanities as others attempted to restrain her. When an officer tried to arrest her, she said, “What are you gonna do to me? Just because I hit a dumb*ss b*tch in the face? I’d f*cking do it again.”
Video shows the woman continuing to threaten Benichou as she’s being placed in a police vehicle.
“I should have killed her when I had the chance!” the woman screamed.
Others at the scene told the attacker she was “sick” and needed to go to a mental hospital.
“I’ve already been to a mental hospital, and I’ll go again if it means killing her!” the woman responded.
University of Michigan police told the Daily Mail that officers were responding to an unpermitted event shortly before 5 p.m. when they witnessed a student assaulting a woman.
“The student was taken into custody, processed, and released pending warrant authorization,” police said.
My official statement https://t.co/1DT3R9w61d
Benichou’s manager, Taylor Sharp, told Mediaite that she suffered a lower-back injury during the assault and intended to press charges. Benichou later released a statement describing the attack and thanking the officers who intervened.
“Today, I was physically assaulted simply for showing up and exercising my First Amendment rights. Political violence has NO place in the United States of America,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful to the law enforcement officers who acted immediately to protect me, I am now in a safe location receiving care, and I am going to be okay.”
“If the intention was to intimidate me or silence me, it will not work,” Benichou added.
Source: Daily Wire
