Two federal agents are under investigation for sharing social media posts promoting a conspiracy that Rep. Ilhan Omar took terrorism classes.
“Hell just make her Director of National Security, obviously she not only took TERRORIST CLASSES, she sat in class WITH THEM!” one Homeland Security Investigations senior agent, Leslie Derewonko, said in a post referencing Omar. The Minnesota Democrat, who came to the U.S. from Somalia, is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
In another post, on LinkedIn, Derewonko shared a video that suggested Omar took a class where terrorism was discussed, and in the post the agent questions, “And this is what represents America?”
Derewonko also previously posted anti-immigrant conspiracies and used the term “White America” multiple times.
The second agent, who’s based in the San Francisco area, liked Derewonko’s post. Both agents have changed their LinkedIn accounts to no longer include their association with ICE.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Friday that it’s investigating Derewonko, and the other special agent, for sharing the posts that perpetuate the conspiracy theory, ABC News reported. ICE is also looking to determine if the two agents violated any department policies.
“Social media content posted by employees on their personal platforms should not be considered representative of agency policies or positions,” ICE spokesperson Jennifer Elzea said in a statement.
Omar recently came under fire for what were seen as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments.
Democrats introduced an anti-hate resolution that began as a rebuke to the comments, and it was passed on Thursday. The resolution condemned all forms of bigotry, specifically calling out Islamaphobia.
Although the measure passed, 23 Republicans voted against it because they claimed it did not go far enough in condemning Omar for her anti-Semitic sentiments.
