Republican candidate hoping to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar charged with felony theft

Danielle Stella.
(Image credit: Facebook/Danielle Stella)

A Republican aiming to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) with promises of being tough on crime has been charged with felony theft, The Guardian reports.

Danielle Stella, 31, was arrested twice this year after allegedly shoplifting more than 279 items worth at least $2,300 from a Target store in January and $40 worth of products from a grocery store in April. In text messages to The Guardian, Stella said she is "not guilty of these crimes. In this country I am innocent until proven guilty and that is the law. If I was guilty of crimes, I would never run for public office, putting myself in the public eye under a microscope to be attacked by all political sides."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.