A family member of a victim who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks used part of his address at an annual remembrance service Wednesday to criticize Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and other freshman progressive lawmakers known as “The Squad.”
Nicholas Haros Jr., whose mother died in the World Trade Center, was among a number of family members and loved ones of those who died in the 2001 attack to take the stage at the annual remembrance event at the 9/11 memorial in New York City.
{mosads}After taking his turn on the stage to read aloud the names of victims who died in the terrorist attacks, Haros, who wore a black T-shirt with the phrase, “Some people did something,” began to take aim at the Minnesota Democrat.
“Today I am here to respond to you, exactly who did what to whom,” Haros said. “We know who and what was done, there’s no uncertainty about that.”
Haros’s shirt references remarks the freshman Democrat made earlier this year that sparked an avalanche of criticism from President Trump and others on the right who argued that they minimized the terrorist attack.
In the remarks Omar gave at the Council on American-Islamic Relations earlier this year, the lawmaker said: “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”
Several of Omar’s colleagues in the House defended her, arguing that her remarks were taken out of context and noting the end of her quote in which she said that many Muslims across the country were being improperly connected with the attack.
Weeks after her remarks, Trump shared an edited video on Twitter that juxtaposed images of the 9/11 terrorist attacks with Omar’s comments. The video was quickly condemned by politicians and prominent figures. At the time, Omar also said she received a surge in death threats.
During his remarks Wednesday, Haros also criticized other minority lawmakers in Congress — Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
“Our constitutional freedoms were attacked and our nation’s founding on Judeo-Christian principles were attacked. That’s what some people did — got that now? We are here today, congresswoman, to tell you and ‘The Squad’ just who did what to whom,” Haros said.
Asked for comment on Wednesday, a spokesperson from Omar’s office pointed The Hill to remarks she made in an interview with a local NBC station later in April, in which she clarified her remarks from the speech.
“In my speech, I was talking about how our civil liberties as Muslims were being eroded after the horrific attacks of 9/11. And for people to suggest that I do not have an ability to understand – I was 18 years old when that happened,” she said in the interview.
“I was in a classroom in college and I remember rushing home after being dismissed and I remember my father sitting in complete horror as he sat in front of the TV and I remember just feeling like the world was ending… I think there is a particular bias and a certain lens that people critique the words I use,” she continued. “And that is not a bias or a lens that I can get rid of with one answer, with one conversation.”
Her office also pointed The Hill to a tweet Omar shared on Wednesday marking the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“September 11th was an attack on all of us. We will never forget the thousands of Americans who lost their lives in the largest terror attack on U.S. soil. I will continue to fight to make sure we care for the first responders and families who lost loved ones,” she tweeted.
Another family member of a victim who died in the 2001 terror attacks also took part of her time onstage at the remembrance event Wednesday to bring attention to Washington.
After taking the stage at the Manhattan event earlier in the day, Debra Epps, whose brother died in the attacks, took a moment to push for more gun control legislation.
“In 18 years, you would think we would have made changes to bring us to more peace. However gun violence is on the rampant,” Epps said.
“And I hope today that legislation continues to move forward in banning guns … so that we can live in a world at peace and the home of the brave,” she added.
Updated: 4:17 p.m.