Omar won’t say if she stands by previous ‘more fearful of white men’ comments in aftermath of DC shooting

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said the U.S. should be “more fearful of white men” amid threats of domestic terrorism, which are comments from 2018 that resurfaced in May and attracted scrutiny from Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance. 

Omar, who walked away from reporters on Thursday when asked about the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington, D.C., the previous night, previously said the U.S. should be more concerned about white men.

“I would say our country should be more fearful of white men across our country because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country,” Omar said in a 2018 interview with Al Jazeera. 

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said the U.S. should be “more fearful of white men” in 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Omar’s remarks came in response to questions about the threats of domestic terrorism and “jihadism” in the U.S.

“And so, if fear was the driving force of policies to keep America safe, Americans safe inside of this country, we should be profiling, monitoring and creating policies to fight the radicalization of white men,” Omar told Al Jazeera.

A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital asking if Omar stood by her previous statements.

The comments resurfaced in May after conservative influencer accounts, including Libs of TikTok, shared video footage of the interaction. Republicans, including Vance, condemned the statements.

“This isn’t just sick; it’s actually genocidal language,” Vance said in an X post May 5. “What a disgrace this person is.”

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The resurfaced 2018 comment attracted scrutiny from Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance. (Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press)

In response to Vance, Omar said in an X post that she was “referring to the rise of white nationalism in an annual report issued by the Anti-Defamation League that said white supremacists were responsible for 78 percent of ‘extremist-related murders.’” 

“PS you should look up what ‘genocidal’ actually means when you’re actively supporting a genocide taking place in Gaza,” said Omar, who has been an outspoken advocate for the Palestinians in Gaza.

On Wednesday evening, two Israeli Embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were leaving a museum event when they were gunned down and killed. A pro-Palestinian man identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago was arrested, according to authorities. 

Police said he chanted “Free, free Palestine” as he was arrested. 

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Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were about to be engaged. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Yaron, born in Israel, grew up in Germany. While his father is Jewish, his mother is a Christian and the family is considered Christian. Milgrim was an American employee working for the Israeli Embassy.

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Omar originally dodged reporters asking for her reaction to the shooting but later posted on X that she was “appalled” by the attack.

“I am appalled by the deadly shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum last night,” Omar said in a Thursday post on X. “Holding the victims, their families, and loved ones in my thoughts and prayers. Violence should have no place in our country.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.