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GOP congresswoman apologizes for jihad joke | GOP congresswoman apologizes for jihad joke |
(about 7 hours later) | |
US Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) has apologized for a joke portraying Democrat colleague Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) as a potential terrorist, saying she created an “unnecessary distraction.” | US Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) has apologized for a joke portraying Democrat colleague Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) as a potential terrorist, saying she created an “unnecessary distraction.” |
“I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Representative Omar,” Boebert said on Friday in a Twitter post. “I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.” | “I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Representative Omar,” Boebert said on Friday in a Twitter post. “I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.” |
The comments at issue – captured in a viral video that was posted on Thursday – were made at a Thanksgiving holiday gathering with supporters, where Boebert quipped about sharing an elevator with Omar at the US Capitol. The congresswoman described an apparently fictional incident in which a police officer ran toward the elevator and tried unsuccessfully to stop the door from closing. | |
“I look to my left, and there she is, Ilhan Omar,” Boebert said. “I said, well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine.” She added that she then told Omar, “Oh look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.” | |
The video stirred online outrage and promoted calls for Boebert to be censured by Congress and stripped of her House committee assignments. Omar called Boebert a “buffoon” and said “hateful and dangerous Muslim tropes” can’t be allowed in Congress without condemnation. | The video stirred online outrage and promoted calls for Boebert to be censured by Congress and stripped of her House committee assignments. Omar called Boebert a “buffoon” and said “hateful and dangerous Muslim tropes” can’t be allowed in Congress without condemnation. |
Omar and Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), the first Muslim women elected to Congress, are part of a group of progressive lawmakers known as “the Squad.” Tlaib said Boebert’s “pathetic, racist lies” will endanger Omar and cause more anti-Muslim hate crimes. | Omar and Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), the first Muslim women elected to Congress, are part of a group of progressive lawmakers known as “the Squad.” Tlaib said Boebert’s “pathetic, racist lies” will endanger Omar and cause more anti-Muslim hate crimes. |
During a House debate earlier this month, Boebert referred to Omar as “the jihad squad member from Minnesota” and accused her of praising terrorists. | |
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