From Staff Reports 

WASHINGTON —  A May 15 social media post by Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Hendersonville, featuring a picture of fellow member of Congress Ilhan Omar drew violent and misogynistic comments that suggested the leftist Democrat be deported and to “put a noose on her.”

Cawthorn, representing Western North Carolina’s 11th District, lambasted the Democrats’ position on the Israel-Hamas conflict via the app Telegram

“Far-left Democrats have chosen terrorism over tolerant freedom,” he wrote. “The Muslim Brotherhood is a purveyor of terror. Democrats are on the wrong side of history and it’s not even an argument.” 

Further, he linked to a Washington Free Beacon article headlined “Israel haters in Congress outraged Biden defended the Jewish state” that included a picture of Omar, a Minnesota Democrat born in Somalia.

“The post had drawn 199 comments by 4 p.m. May 19, including several that called Omar a terrorist and suggested violence against her,” the Asheville Citizen Times reported in a May 20 story.

Responding to questions about the controversy from the Daily Planet, Cawthorn released the following statement in a May 25 email to the newspaper:

“Threats of violence, and other dangerous rhetoric have no place in the Republican Party. I strongly condemn any statement threatening another member of Congress with violence. I have tasked my campaign team to look into these statements and take appropriate action.”

As a followup, Cawthorn also wrote the following on May 25 to the Daily Planet:

“The users who advocated violence against Rep. Omar have been banned for violating the Telegram Channel’s guidelines against advocating for violence.”

Among those commenting in response to Cawthorn’s posting,  Debbie Kessler Ross called Omar a “BYATCH” and said she “NEEDS TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THE GOVT AND THE USA SHE IS THE TERRORIST.”

“Ray Ray” said that Omar needed “to be taken out, stat!!!” 

An individual posting as “G Enoch” asserted: “Pull that bag over her hear (sic) and put a noose on her.”

Cecilia Tilotta added, “I can actually see flies coming out of her month, yes I said flies! Satan’s demon!”

A posting by Stephanie said, “Say NO to MUSLIMS, period.”

“Moderators with Telegram did not respond to questions by the Citizen Times about policies on removing comments,” the ACT noted in a story on the Cawthorn-Omar controversy. “Omar spokesman Jeremy Slevin said the congresswoman had no immediate comment.”