Ilhan Omar fact-checks 'buffoon' Lauren Boebert — and calls her out for promoting 'anti-Muslim bigotry'
Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a far-right MAGA Republican and conspiracy theorist with pro-QAnon views, hasn’t been shy about promoting Islamophobia — especially when it comes to progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. And Omar is calling her out, slamming Boebert as both a “bigot” and a “buffoon.”
Boebert has been describing Omar, who is a Muslim and a native of Somalia, as a member of Congress’ “Jihad Squad.” And during a speech in Colorado on Thanksgiving, the QAnon ally told a crowd of supporters that when she recently shared an elevator with Omar inside the U.S. Capitol Building, she told a staffer, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack; we should be fine.’”
Over the Thanksgiving break, Lauren Boebert said she was recently in a Capitol elevator with Ilhan Omar when a fretful Capitol police officer ran up.\n\nLauren Boebert said: \u201cWell, she doesn\u2019t have a backpack. We should be fine.\u201d\n\nBoebert then called Ilhan Omar, \u201cjihad squad.\u201dpic.twitter.com/Y7f0nFbnud— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1637856858
Boebert also claimed that inside the Capitol, she told a staffer, “Oh look, the Jihad Squad decided show up for work today.’”
But Boebert’s elevator anecdote, according to Omar, is fiction.
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On Thanksgiving, Omar tweeted:
Fact, this buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol, this whole story is made up. Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout.\n\nAnti-Muslim bigotry isn\u2019t funny & shouldn\u2019t be normalized. Congress can\u2019t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation.https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1463903881553920004\u00a0\u2026— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1637888778
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell also had a hard time believing Boebert, tweeting:
Boebert\u2019s story sounds a bit ridiculous. Omar is almost always accompanied by staff, even in House office buildings, so not sure how this could happen. Have also never seen a USCP officer act like this.— Hugo Lowell (@Hugo Lowell) 1637895925
Rev. Chuck Currie, a Protestant minister, called Boebert out as well on Twitter:
As a Christian minister, I stand with Rep. Omar. Lauren Boebert\u2019s religious bigotry should disqualify her from serving in Congress. Just as importantly, @RepBoebert, Islamaphobia is a sin.pic.twitter.com/ujUg0uq8lM— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie) 1637904358
Of course, Omar is far from a jihadist. The Minnesota congresswoman holds decidedly feminist views, which are incompatible with far-right jihadist groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS (Islamic State, Iraq and Syria) and Boko Haram. But on the other hand, former Boebert aide Sherronna Bishop has praised the violent, far-right Proud Boys as an example of “everything that makes America great.”
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