A University of Michigan student was arrested Sunday evening after campus police officers witnessed her push conservative commentator Liz Benichou to the ground during an unpermitted rally on the Diag. The student was processed and released, with the case now headed to prosecutors for review.
According to MLive, police were called to the scene around 5 p.m. on Nov. 1 for a noise complaint that turned out to be an unpermitted event on the Diag hosted by a group called Liberty Under Fire USA. Officers on scene said they saw the student shove Benichou to the ground before taking her into custody. The student was processed and released, and University of Michigan police told MLive the incident will be sent to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office for review. Police declined to release the student's name before any arraignment on criminal charges, the outlet reported.
University of Michigan police described the woman who was pushed as someone with no affiliation to the university, and said she later sought medical treatment, according to Newsweek. Benichou's manager, Taylor Sharp, told Mediaite that Benichou injured her lower back while being thrown to the ground and said the student kept confronting her afterward. Sharp said Benichou plans to press charges against the student.
What Sparked the Confrontation
The clash reportedly grew out of an exchange over Islam, with Benichou asking what would happen to the student if she walked around dressed the way she was in Iran, per Mediaite's account of the encounter. The on-campus event itself had not gone through the university's permitting process, Michigan police told MLive.
As the student was being placed into a police vehicle, she could be heard shouting a threat toward Benichou, telling her, “I should have f****** killed you while I had the chance,” according to Newsweek's report on video from the scene. The same account from Newsweek described the moment as part of a physical altercation caught on video at the event.
Senate Campaign Distances Itself
Speculation had circulated online about whether the student was connected to a local political campaign, but a spokesperson for the Abdul for Senate campaign confirmed to MLive that she has no official affiliation with that campaign. The Detroit News also reported on the arrest, describing it in similar terms as a student being taken into custody after shoving a conservative influencer and yelling a threat, though that outlet's account carries lower confidence in some details than the MLive and Newsweek reporting.
A Campus Already on Edge Over Speech Rules
The incident lands amid broader friction over how the University of Michigan regulates speech and protest on the Diag. Earlier this year, the university began posting signs across the plaza reminding visitors that a permit is required for all events, according to The Michigan Daily. Under university rules described in that report, amplified sound is allowed without a permit only from noon to 1 p.m. daily, with other time slots requiring advance approval.
National survey data suggests Sunday's shove did not happen in a vacuum. The nonprofit Free Speech group FIRE, working with College Pulse, surveyed 68,510 students at 257 colleges and universities for its 2026 College Free Speech Rankings and found that 53% of students consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a difficult topic to discuss openly on campus, per FIRE's research. The same survey found that the share of students who view shouting down speakers, blocking entry to events, or using violence to stop a campus speech as acceptable all rose from the prior year, reaching record highs.
University of Michigan police said the student was arrested and released; Newsweek reported she was released pending warrant authorization, while MLive separately reported that the incident would be sent to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office for review. The student remains unidentified, and no charges had been filed as of the reporting. Benichou's camp has signaled intent to pursue the matter further.
