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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said it was a “tragedy” that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed “in that way,” and said there is no legacy to honor.
Omar spoke to former CNN anchor Don Lemon in which he asked her about criticism of her previous comments about Kirk and if she would apologize.
“Well, I have nothing to apologize for,” Omar said. “You know, it is a tragedy that Charlie Kirk was killed in that way. I feel for his widow and his children. They will have to live with that for the rest of their lives.”
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Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
She went on to condemn Kirk, arguing, “But there is no legacy to honor. It was a legacy filled with bigotry, hatred, and White supremacy. And as a Black woman and as a Muslim in this country, I refuse to join the chorus that changes the history of what is on the record from this man.”
She argued that Kirk’s defenders can “do whatever they want to do, but I am not going to be bullied into complacency, into dishonoring who I am and what I stand for just to make them feel comfortable.”
When asked for comment about her saying it was a “tragedy that Charlie Kirk was killed in that way,” a spokesperson for Omar told Fox News Digital that the congresswoman has “clearly condemned” Kirk’s murder and expressed condolences several times.
The spokesperson also accused right-wing outlets of making “disingenuous attempts” to twist the Squad member’s words and put her life in danger.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar dismissed blowback from supporters of Charlie Kirk. (Melissa Majchrzak/AFP via Getty Images; Michael Le Brecht/Disney via Getty Images)
Earlier in the interview, Omar argued that conservatives are eager to blame political violence on the left so they can use it as an excuse to crack down on them.
“I think to them it is easy to blame someone else. It is hard for them to face the fact that there is something wrong, and that they have to address it,” she said. “If it is someone like you and I, then they could just be like, ‘Hey Black people, fix your problem.’ They never think about like, ‘Okay, there is a problem in this country where we have young White men who are picking up a gun, mass executing people, and we should talk about that.’ And that’s not a conversation that they’re interested in having because they rather focus on you and I.”
Omar had previously been criticized for her condemnation of Kirk on a podcast to the extent she was hit with a House Ethics Committee complaint.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., forced a vote on censuring Omar over her reaction to Kirk’s killing, but the move was quashed when four Republicans and all Democrats voted to table the measure.
Omar specifically faced backlash over an interview with progressive news outlet Zeteo, in which she criticized Kirk’s past commentary and Republicans’ reaction to the shooting. She later accused Republicans of taking her words out of context, and she called Kirk’s death “mortifying.”
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Don Lemon appeared at the Congressional Black Caucus over the weekend. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this article.
