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MPR News Staff

Somali-Minnesotan lawmaker: DC cab driver threatened me

Ilhan Omar waves to supporters.
Ilhan Omar waves to supporters after winning a state House seat on Nov. 8. On Wednesday, she said she was the victim of Islamophobic hate.
Richard Marshall for MPR News file

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Ilhan Omar made history on Nov. 8 when she won a Minnesota House seat and prepared to become the nation's first Somali-American legislator. On Wednesday, she said she was the victim of Islamophobic hate in Washington, D.C.

The Minneapolis community organizer was in Washington Tuesday for public policy meetings at the White House. "On my way to our hotel, I got in a cab and became subjected to the most hateful, derogatory, Islamophobic, sexist taunts and threats I have ever experienced," Omar wrote in a Facebook post.

"The cab driver called me ISIS and threatened to remove my hijab. I wasn't really sure how this encounter would end," she wrote, adding that she rushed out of the cab.

Omar didn't say if she called police or planned to contact the cab company.

"I am still shaken by this incident and can't wrap my head around how bold (people) are becoming in displaying their hate towards Muslims," she wrote.