Unnamed sources told Status writer Oliver Darcy that Bari Weiss, CBS News editor-in-chief, personally directed that a headline be tweaked to specifically mention that Abdul El-Sayed had deleted tweets referencing the September 11 terrorist attack. ^[1] A group of 49 Democratic members of Congress led by Delia Ramirez wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on August 31, 2026, demanding the cancellation of the shock gloves contract. ^[2] The Department of Homeland Security finalized a $16.7 million purchase of 6,650 pairs of electric shock gloves from Kentucky-based company Compliant Technologies on August 20, 2026. ^[3] Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat and practicing Muslim running for Senate in Michigan, wrote a 2020 tweet comparing the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 to the massive death toll of Covid-19 to promote public health policies. ^[4] Bari Weiss praised the author of the CBS News article during a morning editorial meeting, signaling her support for the piece to the entire network, according to Oliver Darcy. ^[5] The CBS News article titled 'Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks invite scrutiny of past remarks' was published Monday morning and quickly condemned by some for being racist and promoting Islamophobia. ^[6] The lawmakers stated that equipping civil immigration enforcement agents with electric shock gloves continues a deeply disturbing escalation in the militarization of DHS. ^[7] Yumna Rizvi, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Victims of Torture, called the gloves inherently abusive equipment that facilitates torture. ^[8]