At a time when the newly elected female representatives are being lauded by the media, troubling information is emerging about one freshman congresswoman. Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, is under fire after news emerged about her attitude towards individuals in the state who wanted to become terrorists.
According to Fox News, the representative appealed to a judge on behalf of a group of 9 individuals who were accused of attempting to join an Islamic terrorist group.
“The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion,” Omar wrote. “We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to effect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation.”
The individuals in question were apprehended while making plans to join ISIS and fight the United States. They acquired false passports and planned to head to Syria and Iraq to join the terrorist organization in 2015. The men were facing years in prison due.
At the time, Omar asked the court show leniency to the would-be terrorists, Omar was a Minnesota state representative. She, along with others advocating leniency for the terror group, asked the judge in the case to offer short sentences, and stated that giving the men harsher penalties could lead to even more people joining ISIS.
Omar’s letter read in part:
“Incarcerating 20-year-old men for 30 or 40 years is essentially a life sentence. Society will have no expectations of the to-be 50- or 60-year-old released prisoners; it will view them with distrust and revulsion. Such punitive measures not only lack efficacy, they inevitably create an environment in which extremism can flourish, aligning with the presupposition of terrorist recruitment.”
One of the nine individuals confirmed he was in fact hoping to join the terrorist group and take action as part of ISIS. According to Fox News, defendant Abdirahman Yasin Daud stated that he was trying to enter Syria for nefarious reasons. Instead of claiming to be heading to the country for a visit, to see relatives or for humanitarian purposes, he told the court that he was hoping to join the terrorist organization.
“I was not going there to pass out medical kits or food. I was going strictly to fight and kill on behalf of the Islamic State,” Abdirahman Yasin Daud said.
Despite the statements of the defendant about his intentions, Omar continued to push for leniency for Daud and his co-conspirators.
While Omar pushed for shorter sentences for the would-be terrorists, each of the men received long prison terms. Daud, the admitted terrorist, received a 30-year sentence. He was found guilty of conspiring to commit murder and of providing support to ISIS.
As the mainstream media continues to applaud the state of Minnesota for electing Omar, troubling facts about her past continue to emerge. Her request for leniency for people hoping to directly harm the United States is just one part of a troubled history which includes anti-Israel and pro-terrorist statements.
~ Patriotic Freedom Fighter
