University of Michigan Student Arrested After Shoving Conservative Influencer Lizzy Benichou at an Ann Arbor Campus Table

A University of Michigan student was taken into custody Sunday after shoving conservative influencer Lizzy Benichou to the ground during a campus event in Ann Arbor, the New York Post reports.

What the video shows. The Post describes a viral clip filmed at a table under a sign asking, "Is Islam Compatible with the West?" It says the student argued with two men at the table, clapped in one man's face and demanded to see their permit. The man told a campus officer she had hit him, which she denied. When Benichou asked whether the student's outfit would be acceptable in Iran, the student shoved her to the ground and lunged at her again before a bystander and an officer stopped her. The Post says that after she was handcuffed, the student said she would do it again and that she wished she had killed Benichou. The Post's account is based on the video and does not name the student.

What police say. University of Michigan police told the Daily Mail they were responding to an unpermitted event just before 5 p.m. when an officer saw a student assault a woman not affiliated with the university. "The student was taken into custody, processed and released pending warrant authorization," police said, adding that no injuries were reported.

Benichou's statement. She wrote on X that she was assaulted "simply for showing up and exercising my First Amendment rights," that "political violence has NO place in the United States of America," and that she is safe and expects to be fine. She said it happened at a "Liberty Under Fire USA tour stop" and that her attacker was "identified as a supporter of Abdul El-Sayed," the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan.

What to keep in mind. The El-Sayed link is Benichou's claim. The Post does not say how it was established, and we have not seen the video or any charging decision. The student's version of events beyond her words on the video is not reported.