RNC Convention Attendee Heard Saying Mamdani, El-Sayed ‘Should be Shot’ - Newsweek
A person in the crowd was heard shouting “he should be shot” during Senator Ted Cruz’s speech at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday, as Cruz took swipes at Democrats Zohran Mamdani, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and James Talarico of Texas.
Cruz used his speech Wednesday to criticize what he described as a growing alliance between communists and Islamists within the Democratic Party, saying in part, "We are witnessing a new and dangerous red-green alliance. Communists and Islamists coming together and sweeping over the Democratic Party.
"Hear me now, Sharia law has no place in America. Sharia law is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution, and we need to stand together and stop it now. A simple truth: when people tell you who they are, believe them," Cruz said in his speech Thursday night.
"When Hasan Piker says, 'America deserved 9/11,' believe him. When Mamdani says he wants to 'seize the means of production,' he means it. When Abdul El-Sayed says he has a 'obligation' to comply with Sharia law, he means it. And when James Talarico says he wants to 'dismantle capitalism,' he means it," Cruz said in his speech.
El-Sayed has disavowed controversial comments made by streamer Piker about the September 11 attacks. When asked by Fox News about Piker's remarks, El-Sayed said he did not agree with them.
Cruz's remarks were interrupted by a member of the crowd shouting, "HE SHOULD BE SHOT!" It is immediately unclear to Newsweek at the time of publication whether Cruz heard the shouts as he was delivering his speech.
Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan reacted to the moment on X on Thursday, saying, "There aren’t even words for how chilling and disturbing this is. Threats of political violence are dangerous, unacceptable, and have no place in our democracy. I pray for the safety of all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This is clear hate, and we must stand up to it wherever and whenever we see it."
Craig Agranoff, political professor at Florida Atlantic University, told Newsweek on Thursday, "it is concerning." Agranoff added, "One person yelling that after Cruz named Mamdani, El-Sayed and Talarico does not mean the whole room agreed with it, and Cruz does not appear to have engaged it. Still, the fact that it was audible and repeated is a problem."Political violence talk has become too casual on both sides, and moments like this feed the sense that opponents are enemies rather than rivals. It is a sign of the temperature in the country. It is not proof that a party has adopted assassination as a message," he said.
Newsweek reached out to Mamdani, Talarico, El-Sayed, Cruz and the Democratic National Committee's campaigns or offices via email Thursday night for comment.
The moment came as Republican speakers at the convention repeatedly focused their messages on progressive Democratic candidates.
President Donald Trump and other Republicans have similarly targeted El-Sayed and Talarico, while Cruz has made the two candidates frequent subjects of his political commentary in the run-up to November's midterm elections.
The remarks also come amid a heightened focus on political violence at the convention, which included tributes to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose death was marked by Trump administration officials and other Republicans on the one-year date since his killing.
Cruz mentioned Kirk's name during his remarks on Thursday, saying, "One year ago today, our friend Charlie Kirk was murdered. Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, Jihadist terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 Americans in the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. In 2001, it would have been hard to imagine where we are today."
Later, Cruz added, "And on 9/11, could anyone have imagined that Comrade Mamdani would be the mayor of New York? The hate that killed Charlie Kirk, that knocked down the Twin Towers, that led to two assassination attempts on President Trump, it just keeps getting worse and worse."
The moment comes amid heightened concerns about political violence in the United States, following a series of attacks and threats involving political figures and public officials. Trump faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, including a July 2024 shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and an apparent attempt at his Florida golf club two months later.
In 2025, Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in a targeted shooting, while state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also wounded in the same series of attacks. The gunman pleaded guilty in June 2026 and was later sentenced to consecutive life terms.
Political violence has also extended beyond attacks directly involving elected officials. The 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione sparked intense public debate, with some people online portraying Mangione as a symbol of anger toward the U.S. health care system despite the fatal shooting. Mangione pleaded guilty in August 2026 to federal stalking charges connected to Thompson's death.
More recently, the assassination of conservative activist Kirk has further intensified discussions about political violence and rhetoric in the U.S.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas
