Omar says ‘good riddance’ to ‘Islamophobe’ GOP Rep. Peter King

“Peter King is an Islamophobe who held McCarthyite hearings targeting American Muslims, said ‘there are too many mosques in this country’ and blamed Eric Garner for his own death at the hands of police,” the Minnesota freshman congresswoman tweeted. “Good riddance.”

As Omar referenced, King said that there “too many mosques in this country” in a 2007 interview with Politico. He then explained his statement saying, “I think there has been a lack of full cooperation from too many people in the Muslim community.”

King later hit back at Politico‘s framing of his remarks claiming, “The quote was taken entirely out of context by Politico. My position in this interview, as it has been for many years, is that too many mosques in this country do not cooperate with law enforcement. Unfortunately, Politico was incapable of making this distinction.”

While Omar rejoiced in King’s announcement, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the New York Republican, calling him “principled” and added that he “will miss him in Congress.”

[Previous coverage: Peter King uses Nazi analogy to rip Jets owner for offering to pay fines for kneelers]

“The prime reason for my decision was that after 28 years of spending 4 days a week in Washington, D.C., it is time to end the weekly commute and be home in Seaford,” King said in a statement Monday