Representative Congresswoman of Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, has revealed her life is under threat following a reckless Twitter video post by Donald Trump.The Twitter post alleged Ms. Omar was dismissive of the 9/11 terror attacks through her comment “some people did something”. The comment was misconstrued from a speech she had given on Muslim hate crimes in America post 9/11 at a Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser earlier this year.The post has since received almost 10 million views and has garnered thousands of comments ridiculing the Muslim Somali congresswoman.Many US politicians, including presidential candidates, have in turn called out Trump’s tweet as being “dangerous” and potentially “inciting violence”.This is particularly concerning considering the fact that the post came one week after a Trump supporter from New York City was arrested for threatening to kill Ilhan Omar by “putting a bullet in her skull”.Trump’s tweet also followed a front page article by the New York Post demonising Ms. Omar, by featuring an image of the World Trade Centres in flames alongside the title “Here’s your something. 2,977 people dead by terrorism”.Ms. Omar has since stated that she has received an influx of death threats and feels threatened for her safety.“Violent crimes and other acts of hate by right-wing extremists and white nationalists are on the rise in this country and around the world. We can no longer ignore that they are being encouraged by the occupant of the highest office in the land. Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes in the months following the rally. And assaults increase when cities host Trump rallies. This is particularly concerning given the president’s visit to my home state of Minnesota on Monday,” Omar said in her Sunday statement.“Violent rhetoric and all forms of hate speech have no place in our society, much less from our country’s Commander in Chief. We are all Americans. This is endangering lives. It has to stop,” said Omar.
