Rep. Lauren Boebert refuses to publicly apologize to Rep. Ilhan Omar for anti-Muslim remark

(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, said she had an “unproductive” call with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on Monday over her anti-Muslim remarks and claimed the Colorado Republican refused to publicly apologize for suggesting she was a terrorist.

Instead, Omar claimed in a new statement that Boebert “doubled down on her hurtful and dangerous comments,” which led Omar to “end the unproductive call.”

In a video posted to Twitter last week, Boebert referred to Omar as a member of the “Jihad Squad” and claimed that a Capitol Police officer thought she was a terrorist in an encounter in an elevator on Capitol Hill.

She was condemned by Democrats and some Republicans for the remarks and apologized on Twitter Friday “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” adding that she had reached out to Omar’s office to speak with her directly.

Apparently, that call did not go well.

Omar hung up on Boebert after the Colorado Republican refused to make a public apology to her, according to a statement from Omar and Boebert’s account of the call.

“I believe in engaging with those we disagree with respectfully, but not when that disagreement is rooted in outright bigotry and hate,” Omar said, adding that Boebert “doubled down” on her comments.

In an Instagram video recapping their conversation, Boebert said she refused to make a public apology directly to Omar and instead demanded the Minnesota Democrat apologize for her “Anti-American” rhetoric.

“Rejecting an apology and hanging up on someone is part of cancel culture 101, and a pillar of the Democrat Party. Make no mistake, I will continue to put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists,” Boebert said in her video. “Unfortunately, Ilhan can’t say the same thing, and our country is worse off for it.”

Omar and Democratic leaders, issuing a rare joint statement last week, have called on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans to hold Republicans accountable for the anti-Muslim rhetoric, but the California Republican has said nothing publicly about the exchange.

In her statement on Monday, Omar demanded McCarthy “actually hold his party accountable” for “repeated instances of anti-Muslim hate and harassment.” Her office also said she is routinely subjected to harassment and death threats.

Omar added in a tweet on Friday that “normalizing this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims.”

ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.

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