Douglas Christian/Zuma
On Friday, federal court filings revealed that a New York man, Patrick W. Carlineo, had been arrested and charged with threatening to assault and murder Representative Ilhan Omar.
The Democratic congresswoman, who represents a Minneapolis-based district, was first elected to Congress in 2018, becoming one of the first Muslim women to serve in office on Capitol Hill. Since her election, she has become a frequent target of anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Carelineo, who is 55 years old and purportedly told investigators that he keeps guns in his home, faces up to ten years in prison on charges of threatening to kill a federal official.
According to a criminal complaint written out by a Corning, New York based FBI agent, Carlineo used a cell phone to call Omar’s Washington office. “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she’s a fucking terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her fucking skull,” he allegedly told a staffer, while identifying himself as a supporter of President Donald Trump. The documents say Carlineo later told a law enforcement agent that “if our forefathers were still alive, they’d put a bullet in her head.”
The arrest is the second time news of a threat against Omar has emerged in as many days. On Thursday, The Blast, a Los Angeles-based celebrity news site, reported on police records showing a bomb threat was called into a Southern California hotel hosting a March fundraising banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, where Omar was the featured speaker.
A police officer transcribed a voicemail left by the caller, who has not been identified: “What would you do if I told you your hotel was going to be bombed? That is exactly what’s going to happen if you allow the likes of Ilhan Omar into your hotel. She is a danger to American society and your hotel. You are not to allow her foot into there if you value your own safety. Do not allow her in there. Cancel the event.”
