A member of the US House of Representatives whose call for the harassment of Trump administration officials earned her the opprobrium of right-wingers has cancelled events in Texas and Alabama after a “very serious death threat” was made against her.

Maxine Waters, the Democratic party representative for California, said in a statement that after criticism from Mr Trump, “even more individuals are leaving threatening messages and sending hostile mail to my office.”

Taking to Twitter, Mr Trump called Ms Waters “an extraordinarily low IQ person”, warning her to “be careful what you wish for."

“There was one very serious death threat made against me on Monday from an individual in Texas which is why my planned speaking engagements in Texas and Alabama were cancelled this weekend,” Ms Waters said.

She added that Capitol Police in Washington DC are investigating several other threats in which people have vowed “to shoot, lynch, or cause me serious bodily harm.”

Ms Waters had been scheduled to speak at the annual legislative conference of the National Organisation of Black Elected Legislative Women in Birmingham, Alabama.

Annapolis shooting: 'Multiple casualties' at Capital Gazette newspaper building in Maryland

The organisation’s president, Karen Camper, told the Alabama news website AL.com that Ms Waters had cancelled her appearance because of security concerns.

The details of Ms Waters’s Texas event are not immediately known.

Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for Capitol Police, said the department does not comment on ongoing investigations.

News of the alleged threats against Ms Waters came on the same day that a gunman opened fire in the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, killing five people and gravely injuring several others.

Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Show all 10 1 /10 Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Police respond to the shooting in Annapolis, AFP/Getty Images Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Pat Furgurson, staff reporter of the Capital Gazette, reports outside the scene of a shooting EPA/JAY FLEMING Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Police and first responders attend the scebe EPA Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted A member of the FBI responds to the shooting in Annapoli AFP/Getty Images Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Authorities work at the scene AP Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Emergency personnel outside the Capital-Gazette newspaper Getty Images Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Capital Gazette reporter Chase Cook, right, and photographer Joshua McKerrow, left, work on the next days newspaper while awaiting news from their colleagues. AFP/Getty Images Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Police respond to a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, June 28, 2018. At least five people were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire inside the offices of the Capital Gazette, a newspaper published in Annapolis, a historic city an hour east of Washington.A reporter for the daily, Phil Davis, tweeted that a "gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees.""There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload," Davis said. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEBSAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images SAUL LOEB AFP/Getty Images Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted "This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette," William Krampf, the Anne Arundel County acting police chief, said Thursday evening during a press conference, referring ot the joint name that appears at the office to describe the two papers that work inside. "This person was prepared today to come in. This person was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm, and as I've stated before, the investigative part of this is going to be thorough, and it's going to take some time," EPA Maryland shooting: Capital Gazette newspaper staff targeted Police secure the scene AP

On his radio show, Fox News host Sean Hannity appeared to suggest that Ms Waters was partly responsible for the shooting.

“I’ve been saying now for days that something horrible was going to happen because of the rhetoric,” he said. “Really, Maxine?”