Islamic group calls on Salling to apologize or resign over tweet

A state senator who is running for Congress is being asked to apologize or resign over comments made about Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.

The Council for American Islamic Relations made the demand over a now-deleted message tweeted by Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, R-Baltimore County.  Salling, in a tweet response to a July 23 message asking if Omar should be removed from office related to an ethics complaint, wrote “Get rid of this illegal know (sic)!!!!!”

“Regardless of personal views and biases, elected officials have a responsibility to conduct themselves impartially and to demonstrate that they can model tolerance and inclusivity for all of their constituents,” said CAIR Director of Maryland Outreach Zainab Chaudry. “Senator Salling should apologize for his post or resign from public office.”

Salling has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The group also called on the Maryland Republican Party to repudiate the comment made on Salling’s account.

The Dundalk Republican, now in his second term, announced two weeks ago that he plans to challenge Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District.

Omar, a Muslim who was a child when she with her family to the United States from Somolia, has become a subject of criticism by President Donald Trump.

The president, who is in France for the G7 Summit,  retweeted a video tweeted by  Judicial Watch that claims Omar was once married to her brother in an effort to skirt immigration laws in the years before being elected to Congress.

Judicial Watch, a conservative organization, has filed an ethics complaint seeking an investigation into Omar.

Omar has called the claims “baseless rumors.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in June that a search of records could neither conclusively confirm nor refute the allegation that he is Omar’s sibling.

Earlier this month, Trump singled out Omar along with three other Democratic House members — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — saying they should “go back” to their countries.