Embattled Democrat under fire for defense of men who tried to join ISIS

New questions are being raised about Rep. Ilhan Omar after it emerged that she urged a judge to show leniency for men who tried to join ISIS when she was a Minnesota state representative.

By World Israel News Staff

Congressional freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has faced criticism for endorsing socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, promoting wild conspiracies about veteran congressman Lindsey Graham, and her positions on Israel, the latter of which have resulted in persistent accusations of anti-Semitism.

Omar’s history of controversial positions, however, appears to date back to her time as a Minnesota state representative, when she sent letters to Judge Michael Davis trying to persuade him to show leniency in a case involving a group of men accused of trying to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

“The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion,” she argued in a letter quoted by Fox News. “We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to effect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation.”

The nine men stared down decades of time in prison in 2015 based on steps they took to join the brutal terror group, including procuring false travel documents. At the time, ISIS controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria, a feat accomplished with the aid of ideologically motivated foreign fighters, whom the men accused in the Minnesota case wanted to join.

Notwithstanding damning testimony from suspects like Abdirahman Yasin Daud, who admitted in court he was trying to enter Syria “strictly to fight and kill on behalf of the Islamic State,” Omar maintained that lengthy prison sentences “not only lack efficacy, they inevitably create an environment in which extremism can flourish.”

Omar’s efforts were ultimately fruitless, with Daud receiving a sentence of 30 years in prison after a guilty verdict for providing material support to ISIS and conspiring to commit murder overseas.

Omar’s run-ins with the Jewish community include telling the crowd at a campaign event held in a Minnesota synagogue that she deems anti-Israel boycotts “unhelpful,” only to admit to a Muslim website a week after her election victory that she has always supported the BDS movement.

Omar also tweeted in 2012, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” For years, she refused to apologize for the post, which many claimed was anti-Semitic in nature.