Nov 27, 2021: Republican Rep. Lauren Boubert, a staunch supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, apologized Friday after suggesting that Liberal Democrat ally Ilhan Omar was part of a “jihadist squad” on Capitol Hill.

“I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community who has been offended by my comments about Representative Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak to her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.”

Her apology came after a video surfaced on Twitter of her speaking at an event in her home state of Colorado where she said she was getting into an elevator at the Capitol when she saw a Capitol police officer running toward her.

“I see fret all over his face, and he’s reaching, and the door’s shutting, like I can’t open it, like what’s happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack, we should be fine,'” she said.

She said it was “not my first ‘jihad squad’ moment”.

Boebert is part of a group of Republican lawmakers who are staunch supporters of Trump, and often attacks their own congressional colleagues with abusive language and insults.

Omar said on Twitter the event described by Boebert in the video never happened, and that “Anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalised”.

“It’s no laughing matter to say I’m a suicide bomber,” Omar tweeted. She called on House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take “appropriate action.”

In a statement, Pelosi and other senior Democratic leaders of the House said Boebert’s “repeated, ongoing and targeted Islamophobic comments and actions against another member of Congress, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, are both deeply offensive and concerning”.

“Leader McCarthy and the entire House Republican leadership’s repeated failure to condemn inflammatory and bigoted rhetoric from members of their conference is outrageous,” they said. “We call on the Republican leadership to address this priority with the congresswoman and to finally take real action to confront racism.”

Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!

WTO postpones meeting amidst new COVID variant