The FBI is looking into a threat against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota that was scrawled on a bathroom stall in Rogers and posted on social media.

“We are aware of that piece of graffiti at the convenience store and are looking into it with some of our law enforcement partners,” said Kevin Smith, public affairs officer for the FBI Minneapolis Division.

The FBI is involved because Omar is a federal officeholder.

Smith said he wouldn’t go so far as to say a case has been opened on the incident, but rather that they were in the “initial stages” of looking it to it.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, urged the FBI to take the threat seriously and said they would be following the investigation.

OMAR BLAMES REPUBLICANS

Brian Raines, 45, of Rogers, posted a picture on social media of a white bathroom stall wall and the words “Assassinate Ilhan Omar” in black marker written on it.

Omar reposted it on Twitter March 1 saying, “No wonder why I am on the “Hitlist” of a domestic terrorist and “Assassinate Ilhan Omar” is written on my local gas stations.”

She blamed Republicans for the message and posted a link to an NBC news story about an anti-Muslim display in the West Virginia statehouse.

“Look no further, the GOP’s anti-Muslim display likening me to a terrorist rocks in state capitols and no one is condemning them!”

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS

Regarding the bathroom graffiti, Raines said he saw it about 4 p.m. Feb. 22 when he stopped at the Holiday gas station on his way home from his job in construction.

“I was appalled. I saw it and I took a picture of it to show the manager,” he said. He asked the manager if he planned to cover it up and was told it would be painted eventually.

“His complete lack of interest bothered me,” he said. “It’s Sharpie. You could have done anything to take it off. He seemed offended that I even said something about it.”

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Raines considered calling the police, but chose instead to post it on social media. He tagged news outlets, political figures on both sides of the aisle, and even Omar herself.

“It’s the only way you can get anyone’s attention anymore,” he said.

When Omar reposted it, it started getting attention — good and bad.

“There have been a fair amount of trolls,” he said. “Most of the people agreed with me. Instagram took the post down this morning. They said it violated their content policy.” Raines said some compared him to Jussie Smollet, the actor accused of staging a hate crime in Chicago for publicity, suggesting he wrote the message himself.

FREE SPEECH OR HATE CRIME?

Why not just walk away? That didn’t sit right with Raines, who said he is a U.S. Navy veteran.

“Right is right whether you agree with that person or not,” he said. “She’s a duly elected official. This is not acceptable. It really bothered me to see it in my town. This isn’t even her district.”

A person answering the phone at the Holiday gas station Monday said, “There is no comment.”

The FBI’s Smith declined to go into details of how the bureau investigates a threat like this, but did say it was up to state statutes to determine whether it crossed the line from free speech into credible threat.

“There’s a lot of different things to look at when you’re talking about an elected person,” he said.

OMAR IN THE NEWS

Omar has made headlines recently over alleged anti-Semitic comments. At a town hall meeting in Washington D.C. she appeared to be questioning the patriotism of American Jews when she talked about “the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”

On Monday Sen. Ron Latz, D-St. Louis Park took issue with her alleged insinuation.

“This classic ‘dual loyalty’ slur has been used for centuries to justify isolating, punishing and killing Jews in their home countries,” he said. “It is my hope that Rep. Omar will desist from future anti-Semitic comments and instead work to build bridges between communities, discuss policy without inflaming religious conflict, and be a productive member of Congress rather than become a pariah in Congress.”

Latz also condemned Islamaphobic sentiment.

“To be sure, Rep. Omar has herself been targeted for hate by Islamophobes. I also strongly and unequivocally condemn those,” he said. “There is no room in our political discourse for such hate.”