Man Charged With Making Death Threats Against Rep. Ilhan Omar – By Peter Wade (Rolling Stone) / April 6 2019
He was arrested and accused of threatening to assault and murder a United States official
Patrick Carlineo, a 55-year-old man from upstate New York, was arrested after calling Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) office and threatening to kill her. “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she’s a fucking terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her fucking skull,” he said, according to the criminal complaint.
Carlineo was arrested Friday morning and charged with charged with threatening to assault and murder a United States official. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
The call took place on March 21 at 12:20 p.m., and Omar’s staff immediately informed the U.S. Capitol Police who coordinated with the FBI on the investigation. When police arrested and questioned Carlineo, he initially denied making the threat, saying he had said, “If our forefathers were still alive, they’d put a bullet in her head,” CBS Rochester reported.
But, once the FBI explained that lying to federal investigators was a crime and that they had a recording of the phone call, Carlineo said he had been upset at the time and did not recall the exact language that he had used. Later, he told authorities he could have said something like what was on the recording, but he was not certain.
During questioning, Carlineo said that he was a supporter of President Donald Trump, a patriot, and someone who “hates radical Muslims in our government,” according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent. Carlineo also told officers he had a .22 caliber shotgun in his home.
Omar is a practicing Muslim who has been targeted because of her religious beliefs. In March, Fox News host Jeannine Pirro was censured by her network for saying that Omar’s wearing a hijab was “antithetical to the U.S. Constitution.” And in February, a poster trying to link Omar to the 9/11 attacks was displayed in the West Virginia state capitol.
“No wonder why I am on the ‘Hitlist’ of a domestic terrorist and ‘Assassinate Ilhan Omar’ is written on my local gas stations,” Omar tweeted at the time.
And, to fuel the fire further, Trump made disparaging remarks about Omar in a speech in front of the Republican Jewish Coalition, referring to her criticism of Israel.
On the same day that one of his fans was charged with plotting to murder her, President Trump gratuitously attacks Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/rPbC7BYNnu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2019
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/man-charged-ilhan-omar-death-threats-818627/
