A New York state man was arrested and charged Friday for threatening to kill Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Patrick W. Carlineo, Jr., 55, of Addison, New York, was charged with threatening to assault and murder a United States official for a phoned-in threat he allegedly made last month. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On March 21, at about 12:20 p.m., Carlineo allegedly told a staff member for the Democratic freshman lawmaker: “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she’s a (expletive) terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her (expletive) skull,” and identified himself during the call, federal prosecutors said.
Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
The staff member reported the call to the Capitol Police, who, along with the FBI, launched an investigation.
Carlineo made an initial court appearance Friday afternoon and is being held pending a detention hearing on April 10, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Omar, a Somali refugee, faced backlash this year for comments she made about Israel.
“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” she said last month.
She later apologized saying her intention was “never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”
