FBI: NY man threatened to kill Ilhan Omar

The US politician is among the first of two Muslim women to serve in Congress

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a news conference to call on Congress to cut funding for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2019.  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files
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A western New York man has been charged with threatening to kill US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

Federal prosecutors announced Friday that Patrick Carlineo Jr. was arrested after placing a threatening call to Ms Omar's office in Washington DC last month.

Authorities did not say when Carlineo was arrested.

Ms Omar is among the first of two Muslim women to serve in Congress.

The FBI said in a criminal complaint Carlineo called her a "terrorist" and threatened to shoot her.

The bureau said that Carlineo sounded angry during the call but "spelled his name correctly and provided contact information" to a staffer.

Carlineo told the FBI that he is a patriot, "loves the president and that he hates radical Muslims in our government," the criminal complaint says.

Carlineo's defense attorney declined to comment on the charges on Friday.

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Ms Omar was met with backlash for remarks she made earlier this year on Israel, including comments that American supporters of Israel are pushing people to have "allegiance to a foreign country ." Some people perceived Omar's comments were anti-Semitic. She later apologised, saying "anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

Ms Omar, a Somali-American, has also received racist comments.