New York man accused of threatening to kill Muslim MP Ilhan Omar

NEW YORK – A 55-year-old New York man has been arrested and charged with threats of assault and murder. Democratic representative Ilhan Omar, a member of the American Muslim Congress in Minnesota, has announced federal prosecutors.

Patrick Carlineo Jr. of Addison, NY, faces 10-year prison sentence and $ 250,000 fine if convicted, US Department of Justice said Friday in a statement .

According to the prosecutors, Carlineo spoke by telephone with a staff member from Omar on March 21 and asked the employee: "Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why do you work for her? She's a (blinding) terrorist. I'm going to put a bullet in his skull (expletive). "

The threat was passed on to US Capitol police, who launched an investigation in coordination with the FBI, the Justice Department said.

Carlineo seemed angry at the phone call, but also spelled out his name for the staff member and provided contact information, according to an affidavit written by a special FBI agent.

Interviewed at his home by investigators, Carlineo "said that he was a patriot, that he loved the president and that he hated radical Muslims in our government," says the reporter. ; affidavit.

Carlineo appeared for the first time in court Friday and is waiting for a detention hearing on April 10.

Representatives of Omar, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, elected in November as one of the first two Muslim women to win congressional seats, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In February, Omar apologized "unequivocally" after Republicans and Democrats condemned what she said about the pro-Israel lobby in the United States, which used anti-Semitic stereotypes. President Donald Trump said that his apology was inadequate and that she should "be ashamed of herself".