Ilhan Omar speaking at a Hillary Clinton campaign event at the University of Minnesota in 2016. (Lorie Shaull/Flickr)
On Friday, RochesterFirst.com reported that federal prosecutors are accusing Patrick Carlineo, Jr. of Steuben County, New York, of making a death threat against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in a call with one of her staffers:
According to investigators, on March 21, Carlineo asked the staff member, "Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she's a f------ terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her f------ skull."
Upon being interviewed by the FBI, Carlineo denies he threatened Omar's life, claiming that he actually said, "If our forefathers were still alive, they'd put a bullet in her head." However, after FBI agents reminded Carlineo that they had tapes of the phone call and that lying to the FBI is itself a federal crime, he backtracked and said he didn't remember what he said in the heat of the moment.
Omar, the first Somali-American congresswoman, has been a target of right-wing hatred since taking office, both for her opposition to the military tactics of the state of Israel, and simple hate and distrust for a young, hijab-wearing Muslim woman in the corridors of power.
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