An anti-Muslim poster outside the West Virginia statehouse falsely connected Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to CNN.
The poster has drawn strong rebukes from local and national lawmakers, and caused the resignation of a Capitol staffer, according to Haaretz. The sign, which loomed over a table loaded with other Islamophobic flyers on a “WV GOP Day” at the legislature Friday, displayed an image of the burning World Trade Center behind a picture of Omar, one of the first Muslim congresswomen ever elected.
Omar’s progressive allies call GOP leaders out for their silence amid the Islamaphobic attack.
I’m pretty heartbroken that there isn’t more denunciation of this outward and blatant expression of bigotry and Islamophobia by a state party.
IMO those who stood up against anti-Semitism a few weeks ago should also be calling out the Islamophobia here, too. https://t.co/LOealpLAKy
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2019
“I’m pretty heartbroken that there isn’t more denunciation of this outward and blatant expression of bigotry and Islamophobia by a state party,” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote in defense of Omar on Twitter. Referencing members of Congress who criticized Omar over her use of an anti-Semitic trope in a tweet a few weeks ago, she added, “Those who stood up against anti-Semitism a few weeks ago should also be calling out the Islamophobia here, too.”
The anti-Muslim display was the second Omar has faced in one day. On Friday, the congresswoman tweeted an image of graffiti at a gas station in her home state which said, “Assassinate Ilhan Omar.”
No wonder why I am on the “Hitlist” of a domestic terrorist and “Assassinate Ilhan Omar” is written on my local gas stations.
Look no further, the GOP’s anti-Muslim display likening me to a terrorist rocks in state capitols and no one is condemning them! https://t.co/0ouCaloWqh
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 1, 2019
ThinkProgress reported that “Democratic leaders in the House and Senate — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — had publicly condemned the actions of the West Virginia GOP” while across the aisle, “Republicans who slammed Omar for employing an anti-Semitic trope, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), remained silent about the racism she has been facing over the weekend.”
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