US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Democratic representative Ilhan Omar could go to jail, and criticised her Somali heritage.
Speaking during an event in the Oval Office during which he unveiled a federal fraud whistleblower incentive programme, Mr Trump said Ms Omar was “a sick and very dishonest person” who “hates our country”.
"She could also go to jail. You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail. This is just my opinion. I think she's a sick, a very dishonest person who hates our country," he said.
Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked Ms Omar, a Somali-born American citizen and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
This month, US federal agents raided her home in Washington amid a criminal fraud investigation into her immigration paperwork.
Ms Omar has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing, describing them as false and politically motivated.
She arrived in the US as a child, fleeing the civil war in Somalia. In 2019, she was elected to Congress to represent Minnesota's 5th District. A critic of Mr Trump, she is seeking another term for the seat in the November 3 midterms.
Minnesota is home to a large Somali community.
"It's a real [expletive]," Mr Trump said of Somalia. "It's got no government ... all they do is have people running around shooting each other."
"She's a disgrace to our country, and it's amazing that she can get elected, but Somalians vote for her."
Last year, the state became the focus of a fraud scandal involving dozens of people, most of them of Somali descent, in connection with theft under a large pandemic-era meal programme.
Mr Trump's comments come amid a rise in Islamophobic speech, much of it directed at Muslim candidates and elected officials.
He also frequently attacks Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for a Senate seat in Michigan. If he wins, he would be the first Muslim senator in US history.
Much of Mr Trump's attacks have been taking place during his campaign rallies and online.
