Muslim Lawmakers Condemn Republicans’ Inaction After Boebert’s Islamophobic Remarks

Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and André Carson (D-Ind.) came together to condemn Republican lawmakers’ inaction after Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) repeated Islamophobic remarks against Omar.

“When a sitting member of Congress calls a colleague a member of the ‘jihad squad’ and falsifies a story to suggest I will blow up the Capitol, it is not just an attack on me but on millions of American Muslims across this country,” Omar said Tuesday at a news conference demanding accountability from Republican House leadership.

In late November, Boebert joked to a crowd about Omar being a suicide bomber, referring to the Muslim lawmaker as the “jihad squad.” And in September, Boebert suggested Omar was a terrorist at another event, saying: “She doesn’t have a backpack, she wasn’t dropping it and running, so we’re good.”

“Condemning this should not be a partisan issue,” Omar said Tuesday. “This is about our basic humanity and fundamental rights of religious freedom enshrined in our Constitution.”

Omar urged Republican Party leaders to “hold their members accountable” and “do something to confront anti-Muslim hatred in its ranks.”