Audio captured from a self-described “pro-Israel exclusive” X spaces shows two activists discussing shooting Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a progressive lawmaker who has been outspoken in criticizing Israel.
The discussion came ahead of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) annual fundraising banquet in Arizona last week.
The audio was released by CAIR, who said in a press release that a handful of X users in the Space were discussing whether it would be legal to yell a sexually explicit insult at Tlaib during the banquet before pivoting to talk about the Arizona state gun laws.
As one user mused about bringing a gun to CAIR’s event, another user on the Space objected, saying: “Who would even want to bring a gun to an event like that? That’s dangerous and not smart.”
“I would never do such a thing, and plus there’s security there and you’re not allowed to bring weapons to something like an event like that, unless you’re like a police officer or security,” the user added.
A separate user then interjected, saying: “What I’m hearing is that if you want to shoot her at the event, you need to do it from far away.”
The first user replied that he needed to “shut the fuck up” and told the host of the Space to “drop his ass.”
The Space ended shortly thereafter.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell called the discussion “bone-chilling” and “the latest proof that Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism are absolutely out of control in the United States.”
“The only thing more disturbing than the matter-of-fact discussion about targeting Rep. Tlaib is the fact that none of the hundreds of pro-Israel activists who heard this conversation live bothered to report it to law enforcement or warn Rep. Tlaib,” Mitchell added.
Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, has served in Congress since 2019 and has frequently come under criticism for her remarks about Israel.
Earlier this month, Tlaib was censured by the House after lawmakers voted 234-188 in favor of rebuking her for “promoting false narratives” surrounding Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and for “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
Critics in the House specifically took issue with her use of the slogan “from the river to the sea,” which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea—or in other words, the complete eradication of Israel.
In response, Tlaib said her words had been distorted and that her criticism was always directed toward the Israeli government.
“It is important to separate people and governments … The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation,” Tlaib said after the censure resolution passed.
The X Spaces discussion comes as Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents are on the rise, but it’s far from the first time Tlaib has been targeted.
Last July, a Florida man was sentenced to three of probation for emailing death threats to Tlaib and three other congresswomen. Tlaib previously recounted receiving her first death threat on the first day of orientation, before she’d even been sworn in, and of another threat that touted the Christchurch mosque shootings.
“Receiving constant death threats—including against my family—will not silence me, but this kind of hate and threat of violence should not be the inherent cost of any woman participating in politics,” Tlaib said in March upon re-introducing legislation to mitigate violence against women in politics.
