Man admits using repugnant language in threats to kill Ilhan Omar, her children

A Florida man has admitted to making repugnant threats online to kill Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and her children.

Myles McQuade, 30, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last week to transmitting an interstate threat to injure in connection with the postings he made on X while in Orlando on Sept. 12 that targeted the Minneapolis Democrat and her family.

McQuade, of Tampa, is due in court on Dec. 22. The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to McQuade and his attorney for comment about the allegations.

Omar, the first Somali American and among the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, has received scores of threats since taking office in 2019. Among those wishing to harm Omar was Patrick W. Carlineo Jr. of Addison, N.Y., who was sentenced in March 2020 to 366 days in prison for saying he wanted to kill her.

While court filings do not spell out a motive for the postings McQuade made, they did come shortly after Omar said she was grappling with the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A video clip of Omar from an interview after Kirk’s assassination was widely shared and swiftly rebuked by the political right, which accused her of celebrating Kirk’s death. In the clip, she discussed Kirk’s position on guns and criticized him for downplaying the murder of George Floyd, as well as slavery.

The heat on Omar intensified after she reposted on social media a video of a narrator criticizing Kirk for being a “stochastic terrorist, an adamant transphobe.”

During an event Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Trump said she’s “always complaining about ‘the Constitution allows me to do this,’” Trump said. “We ought to get her the hell out.”

Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, also called Omar “hateful” and “racist” during an appearance Tuesday on Breitbart News. Omar’s office did not immediately respond to Emmer’s remarks but called Trump’s comments “beyond weird.”

“He needs serious help,” she said on X. “Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead. He continues to be a national embarrassment.”

According to last week’s guilty plea filing:

McQuade’s first posting, punctuated with vile racial references, read, “I’m going to kill you. ... Go back to Somalia before it’s too late.” The posting also referred to him threatening to eat her children.

U.S. Capitol police were alerted a few hours later to the threats and went to his home that same day, but they learned he was on vacation in Orlando. Police called McQuade and identified themselves, but he disconnected the call.

Police went back to his home on Sept. 14 and informed him of the investigation into his postings.