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"We Are Not Frightened:" Ilhan Omar Gets Hero's Welcome In Minnesota

"Welcome home Ilhan!" supporters chanted at the Minneapolis airport.
ilhan omar
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

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In D.C., Rep. Ilhan Omar faces near-constant attacks from President Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican Party. But back home in Minnesota, people are thrilled to see her.

When Omar arrived at the Minneapolis airport Thursday night, she was greeted by a large crowd cheering her on.

“Welcome home, Ilhan!” the crowd chanted.

“We have your back!” shouted a supporter.

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Minnesota Public Radio estimated more than 150 people showed up to greet Omar. It was a demonstration of solidarity for the Democratic lawmaker, who's had a particularly difficult week.

READ: Trump rallies have a new racist chant

The progressive freshman representative, along with the rest of “The Squad” — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — has faced regular, racist attacks from the president and his allies this week.

Last weekend, the president told the four women of color — all of whom are American citizens — to "go back" and help fix the “totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” And he doubled down on the comment a few times, even after facing backlash. By Wednesday, the crowd at a Trump rally in North Carolina was targeting Omar, yelling “Send her back”. Omar came to the U.S. at age 12 as a refugee from Somalia.

Even Republicans say they were disturbed by the chants, and the president eventually tried to distance himself from it, saying he disagreed with them — even though the chants were inspired by his own tweets.

READ: Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are punching back at Trump's "fascist rhetoric"

Omar, meanwhile, seemed unfazed.

“The reality is everybody talks about how [Trump] is threatened because we criticize him,” Omar told a crowd at the airport, according to MPR. “But the reality is he is threatened because we are inspiring people to dream about a country that recognizes our dignity and our humanity.”

Omar, who returned home to participate in a town hall on Medicare for All, told the crowd she would not be distracted from getting work done, and she promised Trump wouldn't get in her way.

"We are going to continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us," she told the crowd, according to NPR. “We are not deterred, we are not frightened, we are ready."

Cover: UNITED STATES - MAY 16: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attends a news conference at the House Triangle, on legislation to create special immigrant visas for Iraqi and Afghan wartime translators on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)