Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza as early as two weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, before Israel’s ground invasion began nearly a week later and well before any other mainstream political leaders used the term.

“At the heart of the genocide being perpetrated against innocent Palestinians today is the Islamophobic trope that *all* Palestinians must be aligned with Hamas,” El-Sayed said on X on Oct. 21, 2023. “It’s the most murderous form of the post-9/11 lie our country told to take civil liberties from Arabs & Muslims then.”

El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what he understood as of Oct. 21 that led him to believe a genocide was occurring.