J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
- Reps. Omar, Tlaib, and Carson held a press conference following comments from Rep. Lauren Boebert.
- Omar played a voicemail she received after Boebert’s comments.
- An unnamed caller can be heard making vulgar threats to Omar.
Rep. Ilhan Omar played a threatening voicemail she received from an unnamed caller during a press conference on Tuesday.
Omar, alongside Reps. Andre Carson and Rashida Tlaib, the three Muslims in the House of Representatives, held a press conference calling on Republican leadership to hold Rep. Lauren Boebert accountable after her recent anti-Muslim remarks.
“We see you Muslim and (n-slur) bitch, we know what you’re up to. You’re all about taking over our country. Don’t worry, there’s plenty that will love the opportunity to take you off the face of this fucking earth. Come get it. But you fucking Muslim piece of shit. You jihadist. We know what you are. You’re a fucking traitor. You will not live much longer,” the man who sent the voicemail said.
A video surfaced last week of Boebert at a campaign event suggesting Omar was a suicide bomber while recounting an alleged run-in with Omar at the US Capitol.
Boebert claimed a Capitol Police officer ran towards the elevator she was on with “fret on his face” once Omar stepped on.
“Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,” Boebert said she told the officer.
She said she then turned to Omar and said: “Oh look, the Jihad Squad decided to show up for work today.”
Omar has said the story is made up and called Boebert a “buffoon.”
“Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout,” Omar said in a tweet. “Anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalized. Congress can’t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation.”
Boebert then apologized in a tweet: “I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.”
Boebert and Omar later spoke on the phone but Boebert claimed Omar hung up on her. Omar’s team said the call ended because Boebert wouldn’t apologize more forcefully for her remarks.
On Tuesday, another video of Boebert telling a similar story about Omar at a different event surfaced on Twitter.
Omar on Tuesday said Islamophobia “pervades our culture, our politics, and even policy decisions,” and said the rhetoric used by Republicans has real consequences.
“I myself have reported hundreds of threats on my life, often triggered by Republican attacks on my faith. And this week once again saw another increase,” Omar said before playing the voicemail.
Powered by WPeMatico
