Ilhan Omar supporters hold rally outside Trump event in Minnesota
Supporters of Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota, are demonstrating against President Trump's planned campaign stop in her home state on Monday, as the president continues to lash out against Omar for what some considered disrespectful or flippant language she had used to describe the 9/11 terrorist attackers.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that it would be holding a rally to "focus on supporting Rep. Omar and sharing common Minnesota values" outside the Nuss Truck and Equipment in Burnsville, Minnesota, where Mr. Trump is slated to participate in a roundtable discussion in recognition of Tax Day.
Lee Bruno, a Minnesota resident attending the rally, told CBS News that the recent "hatred" of Muslims around the country is "absolutely not acceptable." She said Mr. Trump's comments about Omar were "really troublesome."
"It just makes me sick to hear this kind of hatred and poking and prodding trying to create problems where there aren't any," Bruno added.
Habon Abdulle, a Muslim-American supporter of Omar, said she attended Monday's rally because she wants Omar to be "seen as American as everybody else.
"We are all Americans, and we will be respected as such," said Abdulle, adding that it's time for Mr. Trump to keep his campaign promise to be a "president of all Americans."
Just across the street, a dozen Trump supporters awaiting the president's arrival chanted "CAIR is Hamas", "Omar's gotta go" and "Muslims did 9/11", comparing the Muslim advocacy group and Democrat to terrorists.
Omar said over the weekend that she's faced an increasing number of death threats since Mr. Trump shared a video that purports to show Omar being dismissive of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The video included a snippet from a recent speech Omar gave to CAIR, in which she described the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as "some people did something," along with news footage of the hijacked airplanes hitting the Twin Towers.
Omar had been defending the rights of Muslim Americans in her address. "Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," Omar said at the event. "CAIR 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." (CAIR was in fact founded in 1994)
She previously came under fire for her comments about Israel and the strength of the Jewish state's influence in Washington. She later apologized for suggesting that lawmakers support Israel for pay and said she wasn't criticizing Jews.
"This is endangering lives," Omar said in response to the threats against her. "It has to stop."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she's since taken steps to ensure the safety of the Minnesota Democrat and urged the president to take down the video in question. Mr. Trump, instead, lambasted the Speaker for her lack of "control" over Omar and her "anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements."
On Saturday, CAIR condemned the president's comments on social media, calling it a "life-endangering" tweet from a president who uses "shocking imagery" to potentially incite violence against a sitting Congresswoman while "exploiting a national tragedy" at the same time. The organization claimed that Omar's words about the attacks have been taken out of context.
The organization told CBS that they've seen an increase in threats to CAIR offices nationwide, including threats that directly reference violence against Rep. Omar.
CAIR has since called on "fair-minded" Democratic and Republican lawmakers to use their platforms to publicly and vocally stand in support of Rep. Omar, one of the first American Muslim women elected to the U.S. Congress.
Emily Tillett and Katiana Krawchenko contributed to this report.
