Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was met with a loud and prolonged chorus of boos after taking the stage at a large Somali Independence Day Concert in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The event, which took place at the Target Center, was celebrating the 62nd anniversary of independence in Somalia and featured singer Suldaan Seeraar.
Rep. Omar was brought on stage to present an award to Seeraar, who was performing in the US for the first time.
Instead of a warm welcome, the congresswoman was met with chants of "get out" and such loud booing that another person on the stage had to plead with the audience to stop. The boos continued for over a minute, until she and her husband left the stage.
Rep. Omar tweeted a short clip of her introduction, but cut it off at the point where the booing began. It was an honor to welcome you to our incredible city. pic.twitter.com/mM77ZLVCYo
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 3, 2022
Longer clips showed Rep. Omar having difficulty speaking over the unimpressed crowd, some of whom could be heard shouting things like "get the f-ck out of here!" WATCH: Ilhan Omar booed off stage at Somali concert in Minnesota this weekendpic.twitter.com/lNm1aR3G6w
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 3, 2022
While the reason for the booing is currently unclear, there was widespread speculation that it was her support for LGBTQ issues and abortion that may have upset many of the people of stricter religion in the crowd.
Rep. Omar is currently being challenged by Republican Shukri Abdirahman, who is also a Somali refugee.
Abdirahman tweeted about the incident writing, "Ilhan Omar’s BOOOD by nearly 10K SOMALIS at a sold out, highly anticipated Somali music concert at Target Center in Minneapolis!" BREAKING:
Ilhan Omar’s BOOOD by nearly 10K SOMALIS at a sold out, highly anticipated Somali music concert at Target Center in Minneapolis!
This's what she gets for trading her Godly, Conservative values for the sinful LGBTQIA's & the promiscuous abortionists.
LET'S GO ILHAN! pic.twitter.com/8nRFpsiuKL
— Shukri Abdirahman (@ShuForCongress) July 3, 2022
"This's what she gets for trading her Godly, Conservative values for the sinful LGBTQIA's & the promiscuous abortionists," Abdirahman continued.
In 1776, the Somali people became the first Africans to formally recognize the independence of the United States of America. In 1960, the US returned the favor and recognized the new nation of Somalia when it was born. Somali Independence Day is now celebrated annually on July 1, days before the US celebrates its own.
