House Dems Demand Increased Security, Claim 'Send Her Back' Chant Represents 'Ongoing Threat'
Democratic lawmakers called for increased security for Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and other members of “the squad” in light of chants of “send her back” breaking out at a Trump campaign rally in North Carolina Wednesday night.
Rep. Al Green of Texas — who unsuccessfully introduced a resolution calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment earlier in the day — argued rank-and-file members like Omar need more security, The Hill reported.
“This is an important time in this country. These are dangerous times. Every member of this House needs additional security,” Green said on Thursday.
“Leadership has adequate security. Members do not have adequate security. I want to thwart the efforts of those who might want to harm a member of this House,” he added.
Citing tweets from Trump directed at Omar, as well as at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson sent a letter on Monday to Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger seeking “enhanced security for certain targeted members.”
“Being proactive in this instance is vital to the safety of not only these targeted members, but all members of Congress,” Thompson wrote
He claimed Trump’s “charged remarks directed toward Members of Congress have emboldened people to pursue acts of violence.”
Thompson further noted he made a similar request in April after Omar came under fire for describing the Sept. 11 attacks as a time when “some people did something.”
The congressman planned to send another letter on Thursday to the Sergeant at Arms “just to highlight the ongoing threat, that what the president is saying is not helping the safety of members.”
Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, who represents the district where Trump’s rally took place, expressed concern the president is “inciting many of those to the dark side.”
“I’m concerned about the safety, not just for the four women, but the safety of everyone who is similarly situated,” Butterfield said, according to The Hill.
Omar told reporters that she is not worried about her safety, but Ocasio-Cortez indicated that she is concerned about the squad’s security.
“Of course. I think part of the point is to target us,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s natural to be concerned about our security.”
Omar and Ocasio-Cortez accused the president on Thursday of engaging in fascist rhetoric at his rally.
“As much as he’s spewing his fascist ideology on stage, telling U.S. citizens to go back because they don’t agree with his detrimental policies for our country, we tell people that here in the United States, dissent is patriotic,” Omar told reporters.
Ocasio-Cortez said, “This president is evolving, as predicted, deeper into the rhetoric of racism which evolves into violence.”
“We are not in politics anymore. We are in racism — really we’re talking about fascistic government,” she added.
The “Send her back” chant started after Trump began recounting some of the controversial statements Omar has made in the past, including “slandering the brave Americans who were trying to keep the peace” in the representative’s native Somalia in the early 1990s.
The highlighted Omar’s “history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds.”
It was at this point that a chant broke out of “Send her back!” among some rally attendees.
Trump paused briefly and then continued his remarks about Omar, describing some of her anti-Semitic statements such as Israel using “the Benjamins” to buy off American politicians.
Trump was asked Thursday why he did not stop the chant.
“I think I did. I started speaking very quickly,” he said before condemning the chant.
Trump disavows “send her back” chant at his campaign rally pic.twitter.com/4C8CmwNyKU
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 18, 2019
“I disagree with it,” he added. “I felt a little bit badly about it … I was not happy with it, I disagree with it.”
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