Florida Man Emailed Death Threat To Rep. Ilhan Omar: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS — A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday in a U.S. District Court to threatening Rep. Ilhan Omar. David Hannon, 67, faced one count of threatening a federal official in Florida.

On July 16, 2019, Hannon emailed Omar threatening to kill her following a televised news conference held by her and three other U.S. Congresswomen, federal authorities said.

The subject line of Hannon's email, in which he threatened to shoot Omar in the head, was "[You're] dead, you radical Muslim."

Hannon also referred to Omar and the other congresswomen of color as "radical rats," and asked if Omar was prepared "to die for Islam," according to authorities.

"Threatening to kill our elected officials, especially because of their race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, is offensive to our nation's fundamental values," said Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

"The Justice Department will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who violate federal laws that prohibit violent, hate-motivated threats. All elected officials, regardless of their background, should be able to represent their communities and serve the public free from hate-motivated threats and violence."

U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg with the Middle District of Florida added, "No one should fear violence because of who they are or what they believe. Unlawful threats against our elected officials are an assault against our democracy, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice in these cases."

Omar has been the target of racist death threats since she was first elected to Congress in 2018. In December, Omar said that death threats against her spiked following Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's anti-Muslim remarks.

Tiffany Razzano, Patch Staff, contributed to this report