Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar reveals racist death threat

Democrat was told 'a very capable person with a very big gun' would shoot her, probably at the Minnesota State Fair

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 27: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) listens to to a question from a moderator during a community forum on immigration at the Colin Powell Center on August 27, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Omar joined a panel to discuss immigration policy.   Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/AFP
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Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has revealed that she received a racist, anonymous threat that “a very capable person with a very big gun” would shoot her at a state fair.

Ms Omar, a representative for Minnesota who came to the US aged 12 as a refugee from Somalia, said it was because of such malicious threats that she now has to hire security guards for her protection.

The message told the Democrat that she might be killed at the Minnesota State Fair, which runs from August 22 to September 2.

"I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans," Ms Omar tweeted on Wednesday.

The tweet included a photo of the threat message and a picture of herself given a speech with a security guard in the background.

"But until deranged people like this stop threatening my life and the lives of others, I have to accept the reality of having security," Ms Omar said.

The anonymous letter reads: “You will not be going back to Washington. Your life will end before your 'vacation’ ends.

"That being said, you won’t die alone, if that matters. Quite likely at the Minnesota State Fair, that’s where the 'you won’t die alone' comes in. However we have a very capable person with a very big gun.

“They say we can’t get the Somali stink out of the clean Minnesota air, but we’re going to enjoy the adventure."

Ms Omar and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan were the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. She has received several death threats since taking office at the start of the year.

In response, US Senate candidate Roy Moore tweeted: "President Trump was right, she should go back to Somalia".

Alabama Republicans have also called for Ms Omar to be expelled from Congress.

Conservatives have repeatedly criticised her for her stance on Israel and some have accused her of being anti-Semitic.

Ms Omar is one of the four Democrat congresswomen who US President Donald Trump attacked in July in comments the House of Representatives described as racist.

The president said the four women – who are also known as “the Squad” –were not “capable of loving our country” and he told them to “go back to where they had came from”.

The other three House legislators Mr Trump was criticising  – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ms Tlaib – were born in the US.

All four are American citizens.