Wikipedia Editors Are Scrubbing the Page of a Democratic Candidate — Who Testified for the Blind Sheikh in 1995.
In the 1995 federal seditious-conspiracy trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman — the “Blind Sheikh,” convicted for plotting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a wider New York City landmarks attack — a young Egyptian-American doctor named Adam Hamawy took the stand as a defense witness. He testified to his personal relationship with Abdel-Rahman, including taking a 13-hour road trip with the sheikh and FBI informant Emad Salem to a 1991 Islamic conference in Detroit. That testimony is on the federal court record. Hamawy was never charged with anything.
Thirty-one years later, Hamawy is the Democratic frontrunner for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, an open seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12). He has raised over $1 million. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have endorsed him. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has endorsed him. The primary is June 2, 2026.
On May 14, 2026, the Washington Free Beacon documented something measurable: a group of Wikipedia editors has spent the past week systematically removingevery reference to Hamawy’s Blind Sheikh testimony from his Wikipedia page. The page is now full-protected. The text is gone. The edit history is public. So is the 1995 court transcript. So is a 2026 on-camera Insider NJ interview in which Hamawy himself called Abdel-Rahman “a leader of the community” who “wasn’t preaching death and destruction all the time.”
- 1995Year Adam Hamawy testified as a DEFENSE witness in U.S. v. Abdel-Rahman et al. (Southern District of New York)
- 13 hoursLength of the 1991 road trip Hamawy testified he took with the Blind Sheikh and FBI informant Emad Salem to a Detroit Islamic conference
- Never chargedHamawy was a witness, not a defendant; no DOJ or Treasury terror designation has ever named him
- 5 editorsWikipedia editors actively warring over the Hamawy page in May 2026 — Apex-nurse, Edittttor, GrafBismarck, Alansohn, PoliticsIsExciting
- May 16, 03:30Time admin Daniel Case full-protected the Hamawy article citing 'Violations of the biographies of living persons policy'
- June 2, 2026NJ-12 Democratic primary date — open seat (Watson Coleman retiring); Hamawy is the fundraising leader
Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy (D) — Egyptian-born plastic surgeon based in Princeton, NJ. 8-year NJ National Guard veteran (Iraq War combat surgeon). Fundraising leader in NJ-12 with $1M+ raised. FEC ID H6NJ12417 (committee “Hamawy for New Jersey”).
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) — retiring incumbent. Hamawy is running for her seat.
Republican opponents — Gregg Mele (R) and Andrew Zaborney (R) per Ballotpedia.
Endorsers complicating the optics: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Hamawy publicly credits saving Duckworth’s life after her 2004 Blackhawk crash — the medical bond is real.
Omar Abdel-Rahman — the “Blind Sheikh.” Convicted 1995 of seditious conspiracy for the 1993 WTC bombing plot and broader NYC landmarks plot (Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, FBI building, UN headquarters). Died in U.S. federal custody 2017.
Andrew McCarthy — former SDNY federal prosecutor who put Abdel-Rahman away; now Fox News contributor and National Review columnist. Public assessment of Hamawy’s testimony: it “did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof.”
The record is a 1995 federal trial transcript, not an allegation. Per his own sworn testimony in U.S. v. Abdel-Rahman et al.:
Hamawy met Abdel-Rahman in 1991 at a Cliffwood/Matawan, NJ middle school event.
He attended the sheikh’s mosque events; helped translate for him.
He took a 13-hour road trip with Abdel-Rahman and FBI informant Emad Salem to a 1991 Islamic conference in Detroit.
He was present in a hotel room where Salem discussed bombmaking.
He took the stand as a defense witness for Abdel-Rahman in the 1995 federal seditious-conspiracy trial.
None of this is “guilt by association” in the sense Hamawy’s campaign uses the phrase. It is direct testimony, given under oath, in a successful federal terrorism prosecution. Hamawy chose to be there. Hamawy chose what to say. The prosecution’s lead trial attorney, Andrew McCarthy, has said publicly that Hamawy’s testimony, after cross-examination, “did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof.”
“Hamawy's testimony, once cross-examination was over, did more to bolster the prosecution's proof.”
Andrew McCarthy · former SDNY federal prosecutor in U.S. v. Abdel-Rahman · via Fox News, 2026
On May 7, 2026, Insider NJ’s Max Pizarro conducted a video interview with Hamawy. The candidate addressed the Blind Sheikh story directly. The phrases he chose are the editorial spine.
“He was a leader of the community that talks about how to pray, how to wash, how to practice as a normal Muslim. … He wasn't preaching death and destruction all the time.”
Dr. Adam Hamawy (D) · Insider NJ video · May 7, 2026 — referring to Omar Abdel-Rahman, the convicted 'Blind Sheikh'
Asked to specifically condemn the sheikh or “jihad,” Hamawy laughed and answered only in generalities: “I condemn all extremism and all violence of any kind.” He did not name Abdel-Rahman. The Insider NJ video is on YouTube. The Free Beacon transcribed it.
The Wikipedia edit history for “Adam Hamawy” is public. Anyone can pull the diffs. Here is what happened between May 11 and May 16, 2026:
May 11 evening — Editor GrafBismarck adds Blind Sheikh material to the “Early Life” section.
May 12, 02:53 — Editor Apex-nurse reverts (-5 bytes), then 02:54 strips a 1,464-byte block citing “WP:BLP and WP:RS…Move further discussion to talk page.”
May 14, 19:15 — Editor Alansohn restores 2,227 bytes — “add/update ref(s) re Hamawy’s role as defense witness.”
May 14, 23:01 — Apex-nurse reverts again — “per WP:CON let’s try to reach consensus on talk page.”
May 15 — Three more revert cycles (Apex-nurse vs. PoliticsIsExciting / anonymous IP-style accounts).
May 16, 00:45 — Anon ~2026-29420-69 restores material. 01:25 editor Edittttor reverts — talk-page note: “I have concerns that including this is attempting to ascribe guilt by association when he was never suspected or charged with any wrong-doing.”
May 16, 03:30 — Admin Daniel Case full-protects the page citing “Violations of the biographies of living persons policy.”
May 16, 13:44 — Apex-nurse nominates the entire Hamawy article for deletion / redirect to Tammy Duckworth’s page (AfD nomination, +457 bytes).
Current state (May 17, 2026) — NO mention of Abdel-Rahman or the Blind Sheikh remains on the live Adam Hamawy Wikipedia page.
The editors’ stated rationale is Wikipedia’s “Biographies of Living Persons” policy (WP:BLP), which sets a higher sourcing bar for living-person articles. The applied result is that a sworn federal trial transcript citing the candidate by name, plus a 2026 on-camera Insider NJ interview in which the candidate addresses the testimony, is “not sourced well enough” for inclusion. The Free Beacon, Frontpage Mag, Fox News, National Review, and NJ 101.5 are all classed by the editors as insufficient secondary sourcing.
“I have concerns that including this is attempting to ascribe guilt by association when he was never suspected or charged with any wrong-doing.”
Wikipedia editor 'Edittttor' · talk-page rationale · May 16, 2026
“Reverting per WP:BLP and WP:RS … Move further discussion to talk page.”
Wikipedia editor 'Apex-nurse' · revert summary · May 12, 2026
Hamawy’s campaign characterized the reporting as “bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates” (via Insider NJ, May 7, 2026). The campaign called Frontpage Mag a “designated hate group’s blog.” Hamawy himself, in his own words to Insider NJ:
“Obviously, any extremism of any kind is bad. I have spent my life saving lives rather than taking them.”
Dr. Adam Hamawy (D) · Insider NJ · May 7, 2026
Both things are true: Hamawy is a decorated combat surgeon who served the U.S. military in Iraq, and he is on the federal court record as a 1995 defense witness for the convicted Blind Sheikh, and his 2026 on-camera remarks declined to specifically condemn Abdel-Rahman by name. Voters in the NJ-12 Democratic primary on June 2 will weigh the second and third against the first.
The story has two layers that should not be collapsed. The first layer: what Hamawy testified to in 1995. The second layer: what Wikipedia editors are removing from his page in May 2026. The first layer is a documented historical fact. The second layer is a documented editorial intervention happening in real time on the public encyclopedia voters use to research candidates.
The accountability question for voters is not whether Hamawy is a terrorist — he is not, and no one is alleging he is. It is whether a candidate’s 1995 sworn federal-trial testimony for a convicted terror plotter, plus 2026 on-camera remarks describing that plotter as “a leader of the community,” is the kind of information voters should be able to find on Wikipedia when they search his name. The current answer is: no. A group of five editors says no.
Wikipedia’s BLP policy was written to protect people from defamation. It is being applied here to suppress a fact that the candidate himself confirmed on camera weeks ago. Whether that application survives community review at the open AfD discussion is the second story to watch.
Dr. Adam Hamawy (D), the fundraising-leading Democratic candidate for NJ-12, testified as a defense witness for the Blind Sheikh in 1995. He is on camera in 2026 calling the convicted terror plotter “a leader of the community.” A group of Wikipedia editors has spent the past week scrubbing every reference to that testimony from his Wikipedia page. The article is now full-protected. The trial transcript is public. The Insider NJ video is on YouTube. The Wikipedia diff history is public. Whether voters get to see all three when they search his name before the June 2 primary is the editorial fight in progress.