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WASHINGTON — Far-left Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed is insisting that his sister-in-law “did nothing wrong” amid revelations that she was supposedly placed on a terrorist watchlist by the Obama administration over a decade ago.
Mariam Jukaku, the sister of El-Sayed’s wife, was a plaintiff in a 2016 lawsuit involving her and more than a dozen others who were placed on a federal Terrorism Screening Database.
“She did nothing wrong and was captured on that and then sued and got off,” El-Sayed told Fox News when asked Saturday night.
While the federal government typically refrains from confirming or denying whether someone is on a terror watchlist or why, Jukaku was a plaintiff in a suit championed by attorneys with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In 2012, while she was attempting to board a flight out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Jukaku had her boarding pass stamped with the “SSSS” or Secondary Security Screening Selection designation, “indicating that she had been designated as a ‘known or suspected terrorist,'” according to the suit.
“While passing through security, she was subjected to extensive searches, pat-downs and chemical testing,” she added.
Being on a terror watchlist doesn’t indicate someone committed a crime.
Although the exact reason for her alleged placement on the federal Terrorism Screening Database wasn’t specified, Jukaku was an editor at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Al-Talib, according to the Los Angeles Times and Daily Bruin.
Three key advertisers for the publication were allegedly “shut down” by the feds due to suspected terrorist ties, according to the report. Jukaku was described as being outspoken about that at the time.
In 2007, Jukaku also had a run-in with law enforcement while in grad school at Syracuse University over her decision to take pictures of federal facilities, the Federalist reported.
The 2016 lawsuit was a class action case against Uncle Sam, seeking damages. Ultimately, the two sides agreed to dismiss it in 2017. There was also a second suit seeking an injunction against the government that initially notched a victory, before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2021.
The Post was unable to contact Jukaku for comment, but reached out to attorneys who worked the case and El-Sayed’s campaign.
“You’ve got this system where folks are guilty until proven innocent because they’ve got different kinds of names, because of the infrastructure that people like Mike Rogers set up,” the Dem candidate added to Fox News, referring to his GOP foe.
Some high-ranking officials have wound up on similar lists. For example, former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was placed on the Transportation Security Administration’s “Quiet Skies” watchlist, a move allegedly triggered by her overseas travel behavior.
Critics have argued that terror watchlists often lack any semblance of due process, with many of the individuals placed on them unaware that they are on them.
During his bruising battle against Rogers, El-Sayed has taken heat over his family’s ties to various Islamic groups.
Old tweets from 2012 revealed that his half-sister, University of Chicago Professor Eman Abdelhadi, claimed their family was supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which is known for its radical offshoots such as Hamas, has been designated a terrorist organization by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — though not the US.
On Saturday, El-Sayed was also confronted by a voter named Tommy, who pressed him about whether he’d disavow the Brotherhood.
“Sure. Yeah, absolutely,” El-Sayed replied before casting aspersions on the question.
“You assume, Tommy, that because I am Muslim, that somehow, I would have allegiance to something that is not our Constitution,” he said. “That’s implicit in the question.”
The Michigan Senate hopeful invoked the skepticism that John F. Kennedy faced over his Catholic faith when he ran for president in 1960.
El-Sayed is set to debate Rogers on Wednesday and then stump with former President Barack Obama on Saturday.