Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is interviewed, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

[UPDATE @ 1:00 P.M. CST]: The campaign for independent Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan said Tuesday afternoon it returned a $500 campaign donation from a man who plead guilty to mutilating a dead body.

A campaign spokesperson told Heartland Signal it returned a donation from Fareed Hajjar, who also pleaded guilty to facilitating travel for the purposes of prostitution. The return came shortly after Heartland Signal published a story on Tuesday about Hajjar’s donation.

[ORIGINAL STORY BELOW]

According to financial records, Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan has received a $500 campaign donation from a man who has pleaded guilty to mutilating a dead body.

Michigan’s campaign donation database shows that Duggan received a $500 donation from Fareed Hajjar on Sept. 30.

Screenshot from Michigan Transparency Network website

 

Hajjar’s donation came less than a week after he was sentenced for facilitating travel for the purposes of prostitution. In March, Hajjar also pleaded guilty to disinterment and mutilating a dead body.

Hajjar was charged after authorities found the body of Suzan Ferreira in a ditch in Northfield Township, Mich. Ferreira’s last known location was Hajjar’s home, which was in Dearborn, Mich. at the time. Although he avoided jail time, Hajjar was sentenced to five total years of probation, mandatory sexual assault violence prevention training and 150 hours of community service.

Duggan’s office did not respond to a request to comment on the donation and whether he plans on returning it.

Derrick Honeyman, a spokesperson for the Michigan Democratic Party, gave a statement blasting Duggan for accepting the donation.

“It’s abhorrent and shameful that Mike Duggan would solicit and gladly accept the financial support of a man who pleaded guilty to mutilating and hiding a body after engaging in prostitution,” Honeyman said. “Mike Duggan should immediately return this donation and issue an apology for taking it in the first place.” 

Michigan gubernatorial race

Duggan, 67, has served as the mayor of Detroit since 2014. Last year, he announced that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor and that he would be leaving the Democratic Party to pursue an independent bid for governor in 2026. Although Duggan justified his independent bid by saying he’s disillusioned with both the Democratic and Republican parties, it also allows him to avoid crowded primaries from both parties.

Earlier this year, Heartland Signal reported that Duggan’s campaign had been receiving huge cash infusions from major Republican mega-donors, including former Michigan Republican Party Chair Ronald Weiser. Duggan defended the donations by pointing to the “toxic relationship” between the two political parties in America.

Recent polling points toward a tight gubernatorial race between Democratic frontrunner and current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and U.S. Rep. John James (R). Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer (D) is ineligible to seek a third term due to term limits. Michigan’s primary elections will be held on Aug. 4, 2026.