After Syed’s comments in a news release, he led a news conference outside City Hall Wednesday morning. He said that he and Reed had spoken earlier in the day and that he did not consider Reed to be Islamophobic. However, Reed’s “Islamophobic tropes are very troubling to us.”

He said calling a Muslim a “double agent” was one of those tropes. The term is often used to plant doubts about the loyalty of a Muslim American and ties to terrorism organizations, Syed said.

Syed said Reed defended his support of Muslims by mentioning that he was pivotal in the successful election of John Collins-Muhammad to the Board of Aldermen in 2017. Reed has also been critical of the “Muslim ban” by the administration of President Donald Trump and has had an imam lead prayer before an aldermanic meeting.

Collins-Muhammad has been paid $4,250 by Reed’s re-election campaign. As the payments came in, Collins-Muhammad changed his position on a bill he co-sponsored that would have required a public vote on any airport privatization proposal.

Collins-Muhammad’s switch came after Alderman Cara Spencer voted against Collins-Muhammad’s bill calling for a second public vote on whether to reduce the Board of Aldermen to 14 members from 28. St. Louis residents voted seven years ago to make the cut, which goes into effect in 2021.