Another Republican candidate demands Ilhan Omar be hanged for treason, GOP removes him from 'Young Guns' program
It is the second time in a week that such an incident has happened and like Twitter last time, it is the Republican Party that has taken a strong stand. George Buck, a Republican running for Congress in St Petersburg, had suggested in a fund-raising email sent last week by his campaign that Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be hanged.
The lengthy document dated November 26 accused Omar of secretly working for Qatar -- a similar charge that has been brought against the ‘Squad’ member earlier as well, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times.
“We should hang these traitors where they stand,” the email said. Though there was no explanation as to who the other “traitors” were, but it is likely it referred to Omar’s fellow ‘Squad’ members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley besides other Democrats.
On Tuesday, December 3, Buck said he hadn’t written the mail and also refused to name his campaign manager who he said is in charge of his fundraising pitches.
The controversy snowballed when Buck sent the Times another statement that did not differ from the tone of the the fund-raising email. It included the constitutional definition of treason and the federal punishment: “Death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000.”
GOP removes Buch from 'Young Guns' program
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) swung into action on Wednesday, December 4, and removed Buck from its “Young Guns” program, which assists GOP candidates running in competitive districts that are set to meet certain campaign organizational thresholds.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took the decision.
“Leader McCarthy made the decision to remove him and Chairman [Rep. Tom] Emmer agrees,” NRCC National Press Secretary Michael McAdams was quoted as saying by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Buck ran for Florida’s 13th district in 2018 but lost to Democrat Charlie Christ. He is running for the same seat next year.
Omar's Minnesota challenger Danielle Stella also issued identical warning
Buck became the second GOP member to have issued the hanging threat to Omar, a Somalian-born politician. Last week, Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump candidate challenger of Omar in Minnesota’s fifth Congressional district in 2020, also came up with the violent idea of hanging Omar on charges of passing information to countries like Qatar and Iran.
Omar’s camp has defended her saying it is a conspiracy being carried out by Saudi Arabian trolls and mouthpieces. Social networking platform Twitter banned Stella after she came up with her suggestion and depicting a stick figure hanging from the gallows.
The accusations brought against Omar by Stella and Buck are unverified and Tlaib hit back at those issuing the threats tweeting: “The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC. They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent.”