Alex Edelman/ZUMA
In a statement late Sunday, Rep. Ilhan Omar revealed that she has been subjected to an increase in death threats in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tweet on Friday that combined remarks by the Minnesota Democrat with graphic images of the 9/11 attacks.
The tweet, which remains on the president’s social media account, has drawn widespread condemnation. Critics have accused the president of using a video that lifted out of context comments Omar made during a Muslim civil rights event last month to make it appear as though she was trivializing the 9/11 attacks.
“Since the president’s tweet Friday evening, I have experienced an increase in direct threats on my life—many directly referencing or replying to the president’s video,” Omar said. “Violent rhetoric and all forms of hate speech have no place in our society, much less from our country’s Commander in Chief.”
“We are all Americans,” she continued. “This is endangering lives. It has to stop.”
Omar’s statement came shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released her own statement on Sunday announcing that she had been in communication with US Capitol Police to “safeguard” Omar, one of the only two Muslim women in Congress. The top Democrat also called on Trump to remove the video, which she slammed as “hateful and inflammatory,” from his Twitter page.
One week before Trump’s video, law enforcement officials announced that a man describing himself as a Trump-loving patriot had been arrested for issuing a death threat against Omar. The president is scheduled to travel to Minnesota on Monday for an economic round table.
