Weinstein “cancelled”, right » « I’d love to visit Italy, but I don’t think I could afford the fines

Did you know Ilhan Omar has a Republican challenger?

She might be facing a few challenges of her own, though.

Republican Danielle Stella’s campaign to take down Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has hit a bit of a snag. There is currently a warrant out for her arrest after she failed to appear for a court hearing on Tuesday morning.

She is accused of shoplifting a few thousand dollars worth of stuff from a Target in Edina, which is quite possibly the most Republican White Woman from Minnesota crime ever.

I wonder if being in jail would affect her electability in her district? Not with the Republicans, probably, they’re all thick as thieves, you know. The Muslim inhabitants might have higher standards.

Weinstein “cancelled”, right » « I’d love to visit Italy, but I don’t think I could afford the fines

Comments

  1. blf says

    Some background from several months ago, Pro-Trump Republican aiming to unseat Ilhan Omar charged with felony theft:

    Danielle Stella, reported to support baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, held twice this year over alleged shoplifting

    […]

    Danielle Stella was arrested twice this year in Minneapolis suburbs over allegations that she shoplifted items worth more than $2,300 from a Target and goods valued at $40 from a grocery store. She said she denied the allegations.

    Stella, a 31-year-old special education teacher, was reported this week to be a supporter of the baseless “QAnon” conspiracy theory about Donald Trump battling a global cabal of elite liberal paedophiles.

    This week Stella also described Minneapolis as the crime capital of our country. She has in the past complained that local police were overworked and overburdened and said that, if elected, she would work to reduce crime.

    In a series of text messages, Stella said: I am not guilty of these crimes. In this country I am innocent until proven guilty and that is the law [unless yer guilty of being black, or opposing hair furor, or paying taxes –blf].

    She added: If I was guilty of crimes, I would never run for public office, putting myself in the public eye under a microscope to be attacked by all political sides.

    […] She is charged with the thefts under her former surname, which the Guardian agreed not to report because she said it could endanger her safety.

    […]

    Police and court records said a warrant was put out for Stella’s re-arrest for alleged contempt of court on 4 April, after she failed to show up for a court hearing.

    […]

    Stella’s candidacy has attracted interest from the far-right conspiracy website InfoWars, which broadcast an interview with her this week. Stella laughed and nodded as the host, J Owen Shroyer, called Omar a witch and said: Everything about her is a fraud.

    Describing Minneapolis during the interview as America’s crime capital, Stella falsely claimed that crime in the city had risen by 80% over the past year. According to Minneapolis police data, there has been a 10.7% uptick in serious crime year-on-year, following a 16.5% decline in 2018.

    […]

    She has accused Omar of being a criminal for advising immigrants how to avoid agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said in a tweet that any representatives who fail to “uphold the rule of law” should be ejected from office.

    Court records say that in 2009, Stella pleaded guilty to driving while impaired from alcohol and fleeing a police officer. The latter charge was prosecuted as a felony but later classified as a gross misdemeanour as part of Stella’s plea.

    So, a drunk driver (convicted), with previous incidents of theft (convicted), who lies (repeatedly) and colludes in lies, who has a loose relationship with what is plausible, and who supports hair furor to the extent of claiming to be a thugnazi party candidate… “Thick as thieves” does not even begin to describe this vile criminal. (She claims to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which, if true — which I obviously tend to doubt (albeit without evidence one way or another) — seems a little bit too convenient for the litany of convicted crimes.)

  2. says

    “She is charged with the thefts under her former surname, which the Guardian agreed not to report because she said it could endanger her safety.”

    That appears to be a consideration she actively works against for others.

  3. kome says

    Is the Venn Diagram of “Criminals” and “Republicans” just one circle completely inside of the other circle?

  4. Artor says

    “The Muslim inhabitants might have higher standards.”

    The Muslim inhabitants almost certainly DO have higher standards than Republicans. That’s a pretty low bar to clear.

  5. littlejohn says

    In order to steal $2,300 worth of stuff from a Target, you’d have to back a truck all the way to the back and clear out an entire aisle.

  6. Rich Woods says

    @kome #3:

    Is the Venn Diagram of “Criminals” and “Republicans” just one circle completely inside of the other circle?

    Depending on which way round you think it is, that could be a vile slur on criminals.

  8. Snarki, child of Loki says

    Oh, if Ms. Stella is elected, she’d certainly decrease crime in her district…

    …by doing her crimes in DC, instead.

  10. microraptor says

    She said in a tweet that any representatives who fail to “uphold the rule of law” should be ejected from office.

    Don’t you love how regularly Republicans own-goal themselves?

  11. Rieux says

    Just for the record, under longstanding case law, the U.S. Constitution bars any state government from throwing a candidate for Congress off of the ballot on the grounds that she is a felon. Or a criminal more broadly. Or, indeed, on the grounds that she is currently incarcerated. So as long as this person makes the proper filings with the Minnesota election authorities, she will be on the ballot in 2020 in the Fifth Congressional District, absolutely regardless of what happens in her criminal cases.

  12. Rieux says

    For rather different reasons, she stands zero chance of winning the seat: if she manages to survive the Republican primary (who knows; that primary tends to be an unpredictable crackpot-fest), she will inevitably lose to Rep. Omar in a landslide.

  13. whheydt says

    Re: Rieux @ #11…
    So her campaign slogan would be: “Elect me and I won’t get in trouble…because I’m already in prison”?

  14. jrkrideau says

    Wait a minute. If I am correct, in many states a former convict cannot even vote but federally a person in prison can be elected to federal office?

  15. eamick says

    jkrideau @14: Yes. The Constitution specifies age, citizen, and residency requirements, period, and the courts have held the states and Congress can’t impose further restrictions. People have run for federal office while in prison, e.g., Eugene Debs and Jim Traficant, but no one has been elected to my knowledge.

  16. says

    Blf@1: “…This week Stella also described Minneapolis as the crime capital of our country. She has in the past complained that local police were overworked and overburdened and said that, if elected, she would work to reduce crime.”

    I suspect the shoplifting cases will be sharply reduced in Minneapolis, though they might increase in the DC area.

  17. says

    Well, hey, she and Joey Saladino (running for Republican Representative for Staten Island) should get together, sounds like they’d get along famously. (If you haven’t heard of him, put “Joey Saladino Staten Island” into your search engine of choice — there is a much older Republican with the same name in New York who pops up if you only look for the name.)