A poster linking Ilhan Omar to 9/11 was spotted in the West Virginia statehouse, sparking outrage
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A poster linking Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks spotted in the West Virginia statehouse sparked outrage on Friday.
The poster showed a photograph of Omar beneath an image of the attacks, arguing that the newly elected congresswoman, a Muslim and a refugee from Somalia, was "proof" that Americans have forgotten Sept. 11.
The image was first spread by Mike Pushkin, a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, who said someone saw the poster and sent him a picture of it. "I thought it was racist and it was wrong," Pushkin said. The poster eventually led to an altercation between some Democratic lawmakers and the House's sergeant-at-arms, who was accused of making an "anti-Muslim" remark and subsequently resigned.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pushkin said no Republican lawmakers condemned the paper, The Washington Post reported. But several responded to the incident by arguing that it was a matter of free speech.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
