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A Republican hoping to unseat Ilhan Omar, Danielle Stella has had her official Twitter account closed after she called for the high-profile Democrat to be hanged. The Washington Times reported that the campaign account of Stella tweeted, “If it is proved @ilhanMN passed sensitive info to Iran, she should be tried for #treason and hanged”. Later, the account linked to a picture of a stick figure hanging from a gallows. A Twitter spokesperson informed The Washington Times that the account @2020mncongress had been permanently suspended on Thursday. Stella said in a statement, “My suspension for advocating for the enforcement of federal code proves Twitter will always side with and fight to protect terrorists, traitors, pedophiles, and rapists”.

Her account suspended appears to refer to reports picked up by right-wing media sites that Omar (one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress) had passed sensitive information to Iran via Qatar. The allegations were made in a court case by a Kuwaiti-born Canadian businessman. Omar is a member of the self-styled Squad of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives and she forcefully denied the allegation. Her spokesperson informed the Jerusalem Post, “Since the day she was elected, Saudi Arabian trolls and mouthpieces have targeted Omar with misinformation and conspiracy theories.

The spokesperson added, “The latest, outlandishly absurd story from a Saudi-funded media outlet is, of course, false and only the latest in that trend”. The only people Representative Omar represents in Washington are the people of Minnesota’s 5th District. She will continue to speak out against human rights violations around the world, whether it is war crimes in Yemen or the caging of children at our border, regardless of who commits them”. It is noteworthy that Omar has become a favorite target of Donald Trump and his allies. In the month of July, crowds at a Trump rally chanted “Send her back”.