Rep. Ilhan Omar, the freshman Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, has been embroiled in controversy for her anti-Semitic views and negative remarks about America since assuming a House seat in January.

She ignited more controversy during a speech to the Council on American-Islamic Relations last week by minimizing the radical Muslim terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, stating that “some people did something.”

Backlash to Omar’s flippant comment about one of the darkest days in U.S. history, when nearly 3,000 Americans perished, was immediate. The New York Post posted a dramatic front page photo of New York City’s twin towers on fire on the day of the attacks.

A caption with the full page photo stated: “Here’s your something, 2,977 people dead by terrorism.”

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw called it “unbelievable” that Omar could say 9/11 was simply some people doing “something” while justifying the establishment of a terrorist organization (CAIR) on American soil. CAIR has been infamously listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group that has waged war on Israel, mostly through suicide bombings and rocket attacks.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended Omar, accusing Crenshaw of taking Omar’s remarks out of context. She then took a shot at him for not co-sponsoring a 9/11 victims fund bill and for not doing enough to stop white supremacist terrorism.

“In 2018, right-wing extremists were behind almost ALL U.S. domestic terrorist killings,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response to Crenshaw. “Why don’t you go do something about that?”

Ocasio-Cortez had better think twice before questioning Crenshaw’s service to this country. A retired Navy lieutenant commander, Crenshaw did tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan after joining the Navy SEALs in 2006.

He lost his eye during his third deployment in 2012 in an IED blast in Afghanistan. Crenshaw was deployed twice more before retiring, once to the Middle East and later to South Korea.

As a Navy SEAL, he earned two Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with valor. He medically retired from military service in 2016.

Some on the left argued that the Republican attacks on Omar only arouse fear and anger and are part of a larger overall anti-Muslim campaign. Other liberal Democrats did a typical deflection and fell back to a favorite talking point, charging conservatives with being racists and white supremacists.

The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jerry Nadler, actually held a hearing last week on the topic of white nationalism. Candace Owens, a leading conservative black woman, crushed Nadler and his Democratic interrogators with her pinpoint analysis and precise answers. She told Nadler and his colleagues on the left that the biggest scandal is the Democrat Party’s fearmongering to “brown people” and keeping minorities “perpetual victims.”

Owens said the hearing was not about white nationalism or hate crimes but power, control and a preview of the Democrats’ 2020 election strategy.

A clip of her confrontation with another Democrat, Rep. Ted Lieu, became the most-viewed C-SPAN Twitter video from a House hearing ever — getting 4.47 million views in less than 24 hours.

While Owens has been a target of the left, she has had the support of some high-profile Americans. Kanye West tweeted he loved the way she thinks, and President Trump said that Owens represents an ever-expanding group of very smart thinkers who is “wonderful to watch” and “good for our Country!”

The way Owens was able to handle House Democrats in the hearing last week proves that she knows the issues and isn’t about to back down when facing liberal challengers about her conservative beliefs.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com