Ocasio-Cortez links Pirro's attack on Omar to death threat
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday lashed an attack by Fox News host Jeanine Pirro on colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and linked it to a phoned-in death threat against the Muslim congresswoman.
Patrick Carlineo, 55, of upstate New York, was arrested after allegedly vowing to shoot Omar, whom he called a “terrorist,” in a March 21 phone call to her Washington office, said a statement Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of New York. Carlineo told federal agents when he was arrested that he “loves the president, and hates radical Muslims in our government.”
Pirro attacked Omar on her program March 11, saying the hijab Omar wears may be “antithetical to the Constitution.” In fact the First Amendment protects free expression of religion.
RELATED: Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday: “Understand when Jeanine Pirro goes on Fox News + rallies people to think hijabs are threatening, it leads to this,” and included news about Carlineo’s arrest.
Understand when Jeanine Pirro goes on Fox + rallies people to think hijabs are threatening, it leads to this.
Folks who imply we’re “bad” for politics, the party, the country, etc. have no idea the threats we deal w/ because of that kind of language.
Talk policy, not personal. https://t.co/udFg3LMdgB— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 7, 2019
Pirro was yanked off the air by Fox temporarily amid calls for a boycott of her program because of the hijab attack. Fox issued a statement saying it did not support her comments. She was back on the air March 31.
Donald Trump mocked Omar in a speech to members of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas Saturday, just hours after news of Carlineo’s arrest.
There was no immediate response from Pirro on Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
