The man who attempted to ambush the Democratic Senate candidate
Abdul El-Sayed with a question about his supposed allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood
– which El-Sayed parlayed into a viral clip for his campaign
– is the son of a political operator who recently received $250,000 for
“canvassing and influencer marketing” against El-Sayed, the Guardian has learned.

In the now-famous exchange, a man
– first identified by the Handbasket as Thomas “Tommy” Teepell
– asked El-Sayed if he would “disavow” the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed said he would, but then asked:
“What are you implying?
Do you assume that I wouldn’t?”

What followed was a five-minute exchange that has drawn over 50m views across several social media platforms,
in which El-Sayed queries the man about the guarantees of religious freedom in the constitution.

Teepell is the son of Timothy “Timmy” Teepell,
a longtime strategist for the Missouri Republican senator Josh Hawley
as well as former Republican Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

Timmy Teepell’s firm, Breakthrough LLC,
was paid $250,000 on 29 September by America Next,
a 501(c)(4) non-profit with which it shares a Baton Rouge office suite,
according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The filing says the money would fund the canvassing and influencer marketing
in opposition to
El-Sayed.

America Next has been trying to gin up “organic” town hall opposition to El-Sayed,
as the Handbasket report noted.

On 1 October, a member of the University of Michigan College Republicans,
saying he was acting for America Next,
reportedly offered students $200 to boo and question El-Sayed at a town hall in Flint.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/abdul-el-sayed-heckler?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other