ND GOP State Senator Posts Debunked Image of Rep. Ilhan Omar on Facebook, Calls Her ‘Elected Terrorist’

Photo credit: Mark Wilson, Getty Images.

North Dakota state senator Oley Larsen posted a photo on his Facebook page falsely claiming that it depicted Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) holding a weapon at an Al Qaeda training camp. Larsen, a Republican from Minot, also called Omar, one of two Muslim women elected to Congress, an “elected terrorist” in the post’s comments.

According to the Associated Press, Larsen posted the image on Monday, but did not respond when contacted hours later by the news organization. North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, a Republican, also did not comment in response to AP inquiries.

The black-and-white image in question has been frequently circulated on social media in the past few months as part of a conspiracy theory smearing Omar. It has been thoroughly debunked. In fact, the image of the unnamed women in a Somali terrorist training camp was taken by an AP photographer on Feb. 25, 1978, nearly four years before Omar was born.

Omar, a frequent target of Islamophobic fear-mongering, death threats, and repeatedly verbal attacks by President Donald Trump, did offer a response to the post, however.

“This is pure propaganda designed to stir up hate and violence coming from a GOP state rep,” the Congresswoman said in a statement. “Facebook’s unwillingness to crack down on hate speech and misinformation is not just threatening my life, but our democracy.”

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