PolitiFact is reporting that Republican Mike Rogers criticized Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's response to a March synagogue attack in Michigan during the state's U.S. Senate race. It said Rogers claimed in a Sept. 24 Fox News interview with Sean Hannity that El-Sayed failed to condemn the man who drove a truck filled with fireworks and gasoline into a synagogue where children were attending preschool. PolitiFact said the assailant died from what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound and no one else was killed.
PolitiFact said El-Sayed issued an initial statement the day of the attack denouncing antisemitism and standing in solidarity with those who value the right to pray freely. It said El-Sayed condemned the attack twice in a video statement the next day and said there was no justification for what the attacker did, but also said "hurt people hurt people," drawing criticism. PolitiFact said El-Sayed apologized in August and said he should have ended his comments at condemnation. It rated Rogers' statement Mostly False, saying it contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts.
PolitiFact is also reporting that multiple videos shared on TikTok about a sexual assault accusation at a Cornell University fraternity house show dramatic footage that conflicts with what is publicly known about the case. It said the videos show a woman being chased and accosted or dragged into a room, and others show a young male suspect in handcuffs. PolitiFact said there had been no arrests as of Oct. 1, though the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office has reopened the investigation. It rated the videos Pants on Fire, saying no video of the assault has been released by officials or in credible news reports.
PolitiFact is further reporting that an ad from the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund claims Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown supports forcing childhood sex change surgery. It said the ad cites Brown's July 2023 interview with WSYX-TV in Columbus, in which he opposed legislation that would have made it a felony for doctors to provide surgery or prescribe puberty blockers to anyone younger than 18. PolitiFact said gender transition surgery for minors is exceedingly rare and no medical guidelines support it for young children. It rated the statement False, saying it found no evidence Brown ever said he supports forcing such surgery for children.