Rep. Ilhan Omar releases death threat voicemail after Boebert comments

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar shared an expletive filled voicemail recording at a news conference on Tuesday.

The call followed several comments made by Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert at a campaign event that portrayed Omar, who is Muslim, as connected to jihadism.

“You will not live much longer,” said the unnamed caller. “You jihadist. We know what you are. You’re a f****** traitor.” Omar said that the threat and others she has received are “often triggered by Republican attacks on my faith.” Along with Omar, fellow Reps. Andre Carson and Rashida Tlaib have urged GOP leadership, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to act against Boebert for her remarks. 

A video emerged of Boebert at a recent campaign event showed her telling a Colorado audience a story about a time she shared an elevator with Omar. Boebert recalled a U.S. Capitol Police officer running toward the elevator: “I looked to my left and there she is: Ilhan Omar. And I said, ‘Well, she does not have a backpack – we should be OK,’” although Omar denied the event ever took place.

Boebert also called Omar a member of the “Jihad Squad.” On Friday, Boebert tweeted an apology “to anyone in the Muslim community” who might have been offended by her comments.  Omar and Boebert had a phone call following the comments, but both congresswomen said it was not productive.

Omar told her version of the call, saying she agreed to speak with Boebert in hopes of receiving an apology. “Instead of apologizing for her Islamophobic comments and fabricated lies,” she said. “Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments. She instead doubled down on her rhetoric, and I decided to end the unproductive call.”

Omar added, “I believe in engaging with those we disagree with respectfully, but not when that disagreement is rooted in outright bigotry and hate.”

Boebert also commented on how the call went, through her personal Instagram account, saying, “I never want anything I say to offend someone’s religion, so I told [Omar] that. Even after I put out a public statement to that effect, she said she still wanted a public apology because what I had done wasn’t good enough.”