Woman Challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar Officially Kicked Off Twitter After Multiple Threatening and Islamophobic Posts

By Caitlin Cruz  |  November 30, 2019 | 8:38pm
NewsPolitics
Woman Challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar Officially Kicked Off Twitter After Multiple Threatening and Islamophobic Posts
Photo:Zach Gibson (Getty Images)

Congressional candidate Danielle Stella was banned from Twitter after calling for the trial and hanging of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who Stella is challenging for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district next year. Stella has been spreading a conspiracy theory that Omar shared intelligence with Iran.

“If it is proven @IlhanMN passed sensitive info to Iran, she should be tried for #treason and hanged,” Stella’s campaign account @2020MNCongress wrote on Tuesday, according to HuffPost. Stella’s campaign account continued, according to The Washington Times, by tweeting a link “that aggregated her remark, accompanied by a crude depiction of a stick figure hanging from gallows.”

In a statement to the Guardian, Twitter elaborated on the decision. “The account was permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules,” the statement read.

However, CNN reported that two of Stella’s accounts were suspended.

When reached for comment about tweeting about the lynching of a member of Congress and her subsequent ban for tweeting about the lynching of a member of Congress, Stella gave this statement to The Washington Times: “My suspension for advocating for the enforcement of federal code proves Twitter will always side with and fight to protect terrorists, traitors, pedophiles and rapists.”

Since Omar’s election as one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, she has faced multiple racist and Islamophobic attacks. “This is the natural result of a political environment where anti-Muslim dogwhistles and dehumanization are normalized by an entire political party and its media outlets,” Omar tweeted on Friday. “Violent rhetoric inevitably leads to violent threats, and ultimately, violent acts.”

In April, Omar said she’s experiencing even more death threats after the president shared a video that appeared to show her minimizing the attacks on 9/11. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that month that they had taken steps to increase Omar’s security.

Stella is one of five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.

 
Join the discussion...