Since becoming one of the first Muslim women to be elected to the United States Congress, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has faced an onslaught of racism from the right wing.
Former President Donald Trump infamously tweeted that Omar, a Somalian war refugee and United States citizen, should "go back" to her country. She's faced baseless claims that she married her brother to bypass the U.S. immigration system. She remains a favorite target of the right.
Before her own election to the House, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) unleashed a bigoted rant in response to Omar's election, saying:
"There is an Islamic invasion into our government offices right now.You saw after midterm elections, we saw so many Muslims elected, I don't know the exact number but there were quite a few. We had that woman out of Minnesota [Omar]. Now she's going into Congress and she's gotta wear a head covering? They want to put their hand on the Quran and be sworn in? No. You have to be sworn in on the Bible."
Greene acknowledged that the U.S. has freedom of religion, but then qualified:
"I'm sorry, anyone that is a Muslim that believes in Sharia law does not belong in our government."
She went on to use Omar's image in campaign ads, posing next to her with a gun.
Greene continues to face backlash for her past support of deranged conspiracy theories like QAnon, which hinges on the delusion that a network of satanic pedophile cannibals secretly controls the U.S. government.
Greene has expressed support for the execution of her now-colleagues, and endorsed lies that school shootings are coordinated by Democrats to weaken public support for the Second Amendment and that the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton murders children and drinks their blood.
Now, Greene faces removal from her House committee assignments , including the Committee on Education and Labor, with the introduction of House Resolution 72 as punishment for her deranged past social media posts.
She's since begun fundraising off the effort, and using Omar's image to do so.
Keep it up MAGA Country! We’ve reached $95,000! Let’s get to $100,000 to help me defend my seat from the DC Swamp!… https://t.co/ltgvQuhFju— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸) 1612313791.0
Omar is not a part of House leadership and has no official role in the decision to remove Greene from her committee assignments, save for being one out of 435 members who may vote on H.R. 72.
Greene used Omar's image to once again stoke fear of Islam and imply to her followers that Muslim legislators don't belong in Congress.
Omar soon weighed in on the use of her photo with just one word.
Subtle https://t.co/IijfVJUFPH— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1612323484.0
The Congresswoman sarcastically replied, "Subtle" to Greene's hamhanded fearmongering.
She later opened up about the impact of this bigotry in a vulnerable post calling for accountability.
I will be honest and say it’s getting really scary to serve with people with guns, who dehumanize and target you.… https://t.co/P3LKIlIVVf— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1612367515.0
People agreed with Omar's take.
Could it be.....racism? https://t.co/0O1jE3wCNI— Bruening Science (@Bruening Science) 1612351706.0
So the @GOP is that desperate, I’m shocked https://t.co/khfnesqb1L— roadscholar (@roadscholar) 1612330942.0
@IlhanMN If you have any legal recourse for this ad, please take it. https://t.co/dehMQf1TLP— MamaBear (@MamaBear) 1612330142.0
Exacerbating the vitriol lobbed at Omar is an amendment offered by four House Republicans to H.R. 72 that would replace Greene's name with Omar's and thereby remove Omar from her committee assignments instead.
Omar wasn't the only one to call out Greene's racism and bigotry.
why does she use Ilhan tho? she's not in leadership. i know why tho https://t.co/0cBUPklwCp— Noriega J (@Noriega J) 1612365429.0
Here is racist USA giving their money to their deranged rep who I have no idea how she’s still not been expelled fr… https://t.co/BOJQvxmQyY— DJ Alex Delmar (@DJ Alex Delmar) 1612353983.0
1) why do you need money to defend your seat in congress? 2) you’re not even trying to be subtle with your racism o… https://t.co/6E84xvhO1C— 🌚 (@🌚) 1612332202.0
It's also unclear why Greene needs to raise money for a House vote in the first place.
Dear Constituents: You are being scammed just like those who donated millions to Trump's "personal" deep pockets. S… https://t.co/qQOk8fdqs7— Candace Schupay (@Candace Schupay) 1612328398.0
Grifters gonna grift https://t.co/Duo0EnmRuI— kate mccloud (@kate mccloud) 1612329904.0
This is how grifting works. $100K for exactly what? https://t.co/EGQfVqterd— Brendan C. Vargas (@Brendan C. Vargas) 1612365710.0
Greene says that she's received over $160 thousand dollars in donations.