El-Sayed Ally Supports Hezbollah, Defends Pedophiles

Days after he was the kickoff speaker at Abdul El-Sayed’s Ann Arbor event with Hasan Piker, Amir Makled is under fire for past social media posts.

Makled is trying to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination to become a University of Michigan regent. When asked in late March, Makled’s campaign was less than honest about his views on the terrorist group Hezbollah. And Makled’s past and present clients are now being scrutinized.

The association between Makled and El-Sayed also casts doubt on El-Sayed’s already troubled campaign.

A high-profile leak, a former staffer coming forward with grave concerns, and controversy over using extremist influencer Piker as a hype man have put El-Sayed in the national headlines and delivered more than enough juicy material for a Republican ad campaign should El-Sayed make it through a tight primary race.

On March 27, a representative of Makled’s campaign told me via text message, “[Mr. Makled] has made no statements regarding Hamas and Hezbollah.” The campaign also said that Makled “believes the state of Israel is committing a genocide against the people of Gaza and now Lebanon.”

A Lebanese member of parliament has made clear that this is not the case. Israel is fighting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and has issued advanced warnings to civilians. Evidence has emerged that Hamas, still governing half of Gaza and brutalizing Gazans, withheld supplies, including baby formula, from the populace as part of a public relations campaign against Israel.

The text exchange with Makled’s campaign occurred weeks before news of Makled’s social media posts broke. The posts include clear examples of antisemitism. Makled shared a post that referred to Syrian President Abu Mohammad al-Julani as “Jewlani.”

Makled also shared posts praising leaders of the terrorist group Hezbollah and a post calling Israelis “demons,” stating that they “lie, steal, cheat, murder and blackmail.”

El-Sayed said he loves “Jewish folk” during an event in Ann Arbor. Yet, he continues to campaign with people like Piker and Makled. This adds further weight to claims made by a former staff member who accused El-Sayed of being a "chameleon.”

SEIU Healthcare Michigan, a large union that had endorsed Makled, changed its mind. Michigan Enjoyer reached out to a representative of SEIU Michigan last week. She did not return multiple requests for comment. However, the union rescinded its endorsement of Makled in a statement posted to X on Tuesday, April 14:

After careful consideration, SEIU Michigan has decided to rescind our endorsement of Amir Makled. This decision follows new information that was not available at the time our endorsement was made. As an organization, we hold our endorsed candidates to a high standard and expect alignment with our values and the interests of our members.

Makled carries additional baggage beyond his social media trail of sympathy for terrorism and antisemitism.

In a leaked recording, El-Sayed told his advisors, "I'm just gonna go straight to pedophilia, frankly. I'll just be like, 'Pedophile president decides that he doesn't like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.'”

Abdul El-Sayed either really believes what he was saying in a cynical political conversation with his top aides or he was weaponizing heinous charges for purely political ends.

Either way, El-Sayed looks like a hypocrite given that he’s campaigning with Amir Makled who literally defended sexual predators.

According to PBS, not a news organization known for its defense of the President, “Trump himself maintains that he cut ties with Epstein long ago, and has not been accused of any specific wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.”

Yet Makled defended a man who was sentenced to between 11 and 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting his niece, who was under the age of 16. Makled also represented a child pornographer.

While every person accused of a crime in the American system deserves a defense, regardless of the seriousness of the charges, El-Sayed's decision to campaign alongside Makled is hypocritical.

El-Sayed pivots to unfounded attacks on the president all while campaigning alongside a person who has actually defended child sex predators and other contemptible clients in court.

He defended a man who fatally struck a soccer referee—a father of two—during a game. Makled is now defending a suspect accused of providing aid to terrorists. According to ClickOnDetroit, “The targets allegedly included Cedar Point in Ohio and LGBTQ-friendly clubs and restaurants in Ferndale.”

The only person Makled apparently will not defend is himself. He offered no comment on this story.