ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A University of Michigan student was taken into custody Saturday afternoon after video footage captured her assaulting a Jewish woman during an unpermitted free speech event on the campus Diag, according to university police and multiple social media accounts documenting the confrontation.
University of Michigan Police Department officers responded just before 5 p.m. to the central campus area known as the Diag. According to a statement provided to reporters, officers “witnessed a University of Michigan student assault a woman not affiliated with the university” as a group was packing up. The student was taken into custody, processed, and released pending warrant authorization. No injuries were reported, police said.
Video circulating widely online, originally posted by accounts including Freedom & Whiskey and amplified by commentator Meghan Elinor, shows the woman, described across posts as a supporter of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, approaching a table set up for debate. In the footage, she is seen slapping a bearded man identified as Joe Redden (@teameffujoe), known as “The Older Millennial,” before becoming highly agitated, pointing, and yelling. The clip then shows her physically engaging with Liz Benichou (@basedinmalibu), a Jewish commentator who has appeared on Fox News.
Benichou has publicly identified herself as the woman who was attacked. Social media reports, including from accounts that shared the footage, state that the student continued to resist after police intervened, and that she made a statement along the lines of “I should have killed her” as she was placed in a police vehicle. Officers are seen restraining her on the ground amid autumn leaves, handcuffing her, and escorting her to a marked vehicle with lights activated.
The event was described by participants and observers as a table-based free speech discussion involving conservative voices on campus. Redden and Benichou have been active in on-the-ground commentary and debates. The confrontation occurred as the group was winding down, according to the police account.
The incident comes amid ongoing tensions at the University of Michigan surrounding free speech, campus protests, and the state’s U.S. Senate race. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee, is a progressive candidate whose campaign has drawn attention for its engagement with younger voters and its positions on foreign policy. The university has faced repeated scrutiny in recent years over pro-Palestinian activism, encampments on the Diag, federal indictments related to alleged threats against university officials, and debates over the boundaries between protected speech and unlawful conduct.
Conservative commentators and college Republican groups quickly shared the video, framing the assault as an example of political discourse turning physical. University police confirmed the matter remains under their jurisdiction and that the student was released pending further review of charges.
As of early Sunday, the footage had accumulated significant viewership across platforms, with the original posts drawing tens of thousands of interactions. Neither the university nor El-Sayed’s campaign had issued a public statement on the specific incident at the time of publication. The case remains pending warrant authorization, with no charges formally filed as of the latest police update.
The Diag has long served as a central gathering point for expression at Michigan, but university policy and state law prohibit violence, threats, and interference with others’ rights regardless of political viewpoint. Police statements emphasized that the assault was observed by officers on scene.
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