Ilhan Omar Reveals Islamophobic, Life-Threatening Voicemail
After the surfacing of a video of Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert making Islamophobic jokes directed at Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar, life-threatening, profane voicemails were sent to Omar's phone.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, US Democrat Representative Ilhan Omar has played a voicemail that includes a death threat after the release of a video showcasing Republican Representative Lauren Boebert making racist, anti-Islam derogatory remarks.
Omar urged, “It is time for the Republican party to actually do something to confront anti-Muslim hatred in its ranks and hold those who perpetuate it accountable.”
Recently, a video of Boebert went viral, as she compared Omar to a bomb-carrying terrorist, calling her a member of the "jihad squad."
Omar responded to the matter, saying that the racist rhetoric is an attack on American Muslims, “When a sitting member of Congress calls a colleague a member of the ‘jihad squad’ and falsifies a story to suggest I will blow up the Capitol, it is not just an attack on me but on millions of American Muslims across the country,” Omar said during the news conference.
“We cannot pretend this hate speech from leading politicians doesn’t have real consequences.”
A violent voicemail
After her statement, she played the voicemail, which was filled with profanity and racial slurs. The recording threatened to "take you off the face of the f****** Earth" - one of the many messages, among hundreds, which Omar has received since she became congresswoman. "You will not be living much longer, b****," and "We the people are rising up" were also among the things said in the voicemail. Omar was also called a "traitor," and that she will be brought to a military court.
She said that she received the voicemail after a video of Boebert vilifying her was released on Monday.
The congresswoman exhorted Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican minority leader, to "take appropriate action."
Boebert apologized publicly "to anyone in the Muslim community I offended," but refused to direct the apology to Ilhan Omar on a phone call which she ended suddenly. After that encounter, Boebert attacked the congresswoman in an Instagram video.
“Rejecting an apology and hanging up on someone is part of cancel culture 101 and a pillar of the Democrat party,” Boebert said.
On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said House leadership is studying the possibility of taking action against Boebert for her "harmful and dangerous" comments.