A suspicious package with an unknown substance and a threat reading “The Patriarchy will rise again. Merry f*cking Christmas.” was delivered to Representative Ilhan Omar‘s Office.
Today our office received a package with a suspicious substance and a threat reading “The Patriarchy will rise again. Merry f***ing Christmas.”
Everyone on our team is okay. We reported the package to Capitol Police and they determined it to be safe.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) October 26, 2021
The Minnesota Democrat tweeted about the package and said everyone on her team is OK. They reported the package to Capitol Police who determined it to be safe and nonhazardous. Omar has been an advocate for reproductive rights, paid family leave and reforming the criminal justice system.
She later retweeted a message that said despite having to deal with that situation, she “kept working for the American people, casting votes, and speaking at a court expansion rally on the steps of the Supreme Court,” with a statement of her own.
“Three committee hearings, three votes, interviews, rallies, meetings and our day isn’t even halfway done. They can send the threatening emails, phone calls and packages to distract us but nothing will ever slow us down as we serve the people of #MN5. I survived war, I got this,” Omar tweeted.
Three committee hearings, three votes, interviews, rallies, meetings and our day isn’t even halfway done. They can send the threatening emails, phone calls and packages to distract us but nothing will ever slow us down as we serve the people of #MN5. I survived war, I got this 💪🏽 https://t.co/w012BnKApJ
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 26, 2021
Other offices on the Democrat’s floor of the Longworth House Office Building were told to shelter in place after the substance in the package was discovered. Capitol Police “briefly restricted” the area around Omar’s office on Capitol Hill on Tuesday while officers investigated it, USA Today reported.
Omar, a Muslim who serves as whip for the House’s Progressive Caucus, was also the subject of a threat in 2019. An anonymous writer claimed they were planning to kill the elected official at the Minnesota State Fair using “a very capable person with a very big ‘Gun’.”
I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans. I hated it as a child living through war and I hate it now.
But until deranged people like this stop threatening my life and the lives of others, I have to accept the reality of having security. https://t.co/EUkaaCzXZi pic.twitter.com/VDweQr6bHf
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 28, 2019
“Until deranged people like this stop threatening my life and the lives of others, I have to accept the reality of having security,” she tweeted.
Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have often made disparaging remarks about Omar, a member of the Squad, regarding her nationality and religion.
During an August 2020 event in her home state, Trump said that the congresswoman is “a horrible woman who hates our country” and implied she may not have actually won the primary election.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
The package sent to Omar is not the first suspicious delivery sent to a lawmaker this year.
Senator Paul Rand, a Republican from Kentucky, also received a package containing a nonhazardous substance at his home in May. His wife, Kelley Paul, tweeted at the time that she received a death threat letter and called the FBI.
Capitol Police said during the same month that there has been a 107 percent increase in threats against members of Congress compared to 2020.
“Provided the unique threat environment we currently live in, the Department is confident the number of cases will continue to increase,” said a media statement.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police for comment.
