JD Vance has escalated his inflammatory attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan who has faced an onslaught of Islamophobia, claiming he would lead rioters in “burning down” Detroit.

El-Sayed, who would become the country’s first Muslim senator if he wins next week’s election, has been branded a “jihadist” by Donald Trump , the US president.

Vance, the vice-president, has already alleged El-Sayed was a representative of “terrible evil” who fights for “one group at the expense of others” – prompting El-Sayed to respond it was “evil” to deprive people of healthcare and affordable groceries.

At a campaign stop on Tuesday, Vance went further.

Speaking to the crowd in Howell, Michigan, Vance sought to connect El-Sayed’s politics to the leftwing protests in Paris that have led to thousands of arrests.…