Omar calls out ‘Fox & Friends’: ‘Dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face’
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pushed back on criticism of remarks she made regarding 9/11, calling comments by “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) “dangerous incitement.”
“This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it,” she tweeted alongside screen shots depicting the men’s remarks. “My love and commitment to our country and that of my colleagues should never be in question. We are ALL Americans!”
This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it.
My love and commitment to our country and that of my colleagues should never be in question. We are ALL Americans! pic.twitter.com/foTZMpiZKv
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 10, 2019
Their remarks came in response to comments Omar made in March regarding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen,” Omar said at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) event. “And frankly, I’m tired of it. And every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. 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.”
” ‘Some people did something?’ You have to wonder if she is an American first,” Kilmeade said while criticizing Omar. “Can you imagine if she was representing your community, and you were in her district, how embarrassed you must feel today.”
Crenshaw also criticized her remarks on Tuesday.
“First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as ‘some people who did something,’ ” he tweeted. “Unbelievable.”
Kimeade and Crenshaw both defended their remarks later in the day on Twitter, saying they did not intend to incite violence or call Omar un-American. They continued to question her remarks about 9/11.
I didn’t intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American – I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks.
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) April 10, 2019
1. I never called you un-American.
2. I did not incite any violence against you.
3. You described an act of terrorism on American soil that killed thousands of innocent lives as “some people did something.”
It’s still unbelievable, as is your response here. https://t.co/SsfWYepOS1
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) April 10, 2019
A man in New York was arrested Friday after he allegedly threatened to kill the congresswoman.
“Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her? She’s a f—ing terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her f—ing skull,” the man allegedly said in a phone call to Omar’s office.
Omar was accused of anti-Semitism earlier this year when she referred to “allegiance to a foreign country” while describing the political influence of Israel supporters in the U.S. Fox News also garnered controversy when host Jeanine Pirro said Omar’s hijab was indicative of “adherence to Sharia law.”
-Updated 3:53 p.m.
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