A Florida man was arrested Friday after he allegedly left Democrats racist and profanity-laced threatening voicemails.
In the messages, the caller used racial slurs to refer to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and referenced her comments about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
John Kless, 49, is accused of leaving the voicemails with the offices of Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Tuesday.
In the voicemail left for Tlaib, the caller referred to her and Omar, both Muslims, as members of the Taliban. “Hey Taliban. You got fucking nerve, bitch. Tell your Taliban friend to shut the fuck up about 9/11, this ain’t Trump’s fault, bitch, it’s all your people’s fault.”
“You’re gonna die, don’t wanna, don’t do that shit, boy,” the caller said in the message to Swalwell. “You’ll be [on] your death bed motherfucker, along with all the rest of you Democrats. So if you want death, keep that shit up, motherfucker. Keep talking that shit, because the American people are gonna fucking war.”
The caller left a similar message for Booker, using racial slurs to refer to the black senator and Omar.
In March, while speaking at a Council on American-Islamic Relations event, Omar said the organization was “founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.” Critics accused her of downplaying the terror attacks.
President Trump shared a video last week that juxtaposed Omar’s comments about with images of the twin towers and Pentagon burning during the terror attacks.
Some Democrats said Trump’s action could incite violence against Omar, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she has asked Capitol Police to increase security for Omar after Trump’s tweet.
