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Prosecutors authorize charges against University of Michigan student after a woman is shoved at a campus event
Of 43 headlines we found, none came from AP, the national TV networks, The New York Times, The Washington Post or Detroit’s daily papers. Most came from right-leaning, Israeli or tabloid outlets.
Prosecutors authorize charges against University of Michigan student after a woman is shoved at a campus event
Created: 2026-11-04T06:38:55-05:00 (America/New_York)
Last updated: 2026-11-04T06:38:55-05:00 (America/New_York)
Of 43 headlines we found, none came from AP, the national TV networks, The New York Times, The Washington Post or Detroit’s daily papers. Most came from right-leaning, Israeli or tabloid outlets.
The short version
Washtenaw County prosecutors authorized assault and resisting-and-obstructing charges against a University of Michigan student after police said they saw her push commentator Liz Benichou down at a Diag event. The university condemned physical violence. The event’s signs asked questions about Islam; the student had not been arraigned in the reporting summarized here.
Among 43 headlines, this search found none from AP, the national television networks, The New York Times, The Washington Post or Detroit’s daily papers. Many outlets that did cover it emphasized the woman’s Jewish or conservative identity, sometimes attaching unsupported political labels to the student. The account below restores the police record and examines both the omissions and the loaded coverage.
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office has authorized two counts of assault and one count of resisting and obstructing police against a University of Michigan student, after a woman was pushed to the ground at an event on the university’s Diag on Sunday, Nov. 1 (mlive).
What the record shows
- The incident: University police deputy chief Melissa Overton said officers responded around 5 p.m. to a noise complaint about an unpermitted Diag event hosted by Liberty Under Fire USA; signage also showed Reawaken USA. Officers saw a university student push a woman down (mlive). Signs at the event read “Is Islam Compatible with the West?” and “Is Islam Evil?” (mlive).
- The woman: Conservative commentator Liz Benichou (mlive). Video shows the suspect trying to run before her arrest (mlive).
- The charges: The case was submitted to prosecutors Nov. 2, according to the prosecutor’s office. Assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days; resisting and obstructing is a felony punishable by up to two years (mlive). As of mlive’s report she had not been arraigned.
- The student’s name: Several outlets have named her. mlive does not name suspects before arraignment, and we are following the same practice.
- The university: In a statement quoted by mlive, the university said, “Physical violence has no place on our campus,” and declined to discuss the student.
How we counted: Google News searches for the incident, the commentator’s name and the charges, Nov. 1–4, duplicates removed. That gave 43 headlines. 19 described the woman as Jewish; 25 described her as conservative, a commentator or an influencer; 2 mentioned that the event was about Islam. We found no headline from AP, Reuters, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Detroit Free Press or The Detroit News. Newsweek, FOX 2 Detroit and mlive covered it.
Both halves of the coverage made choices. National legacy outlets largely passed on a filmed assault at a public university that led to a felony charge. Many of the outlets that did cover it attached labels about the student, such as “liberal,” “leftist,” “deranged” or “El-Sayed supporter,” that do not appear in the police or prosecutor’s accounts we have seen. Few headlines on either side mentioned what the event was about.
What questions the legacy media missed
- Why so little national coverage? TBD. We found no explanation; the case had video, a police account and authorized charges by Nov. 3.
- Was the student an El-Sayed supporter? Unverified. Several outlets said so; we found no record supporting it.
- Did university officials ask organizers to delete footage? Unverified. That is a claim by organizer Cam Higby; we have not seen the university address it.
- When is the arraignment? TBD. No court date had been reported.
Primary sources
- mlive (Nov. 3): charges authorized, police account
- University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security: incident notice
- University of Michigan statement (Nov. 2)
- JNS (Nov. 3): charges
How outlets framed it
Outlet headlines from today’s scout and searches — their words, not ours.
- mlive: “1 arrested for pushing conservative commentor on University of Michigan campus”
- Newsweek: “Video Shows Woman Physically Attacked at University of Michigan Event”
- FOX 2 Detroit: “Conservative influencers attacked allegedly by Michigan student in Ann Arbor”
- New York Post: “Charges authorized for Michigan student who allegedly assaulted Jewish commentator”
- The Telegraph: “Jewish Maga activist attacked on Michigan university campus”
- Sinclair stations (WXLV, KTUL, WZTV, WPEC): “Liberal student attacks pro-Trump influencer at University of Michigan”
- The Times of Israel: “‘I should have killed you while I had the chance’: Student attacks conservative Jewish commentator at University of Michigan”
- Blaze Media: “‘F**king rabid’ leftist female physically attacks conservative Jewish influencer during free-speech event at U. of Michigan: Video”
- Legal Insurrection: “Deranged El-Sayed Supporter Arrested for Attacking Jewish Woman at U. Michigan Free Speech Event”
- Tampa Free Press: “Pushed To The Pavement: Campus Debate On Islam Turns Violent In Michigan”
