A Florida man is facing up to five years in federal prison after admitting he posted graphic and racist threats to kill Representative Ilhan Omar, describing plans to decapitate her and murder her children before “eating them for protein.” According to plea papers reviewed by The Independent, 30-year-old Myles M. McQuade of Tampa pleaded guilty to transmitting an interstate threat on December 2, acknowledging the messages were intended to be viewed as real acts of violence—not jokes or idle provocation.
McQuade sent the threats on X just after midnight on September 12, one day after Omar criticized the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an interview about partisan responses to his death. Republican outrage erupted almost instantly, with lawmakers demanding Omar lose her committee assignments. At 12:33 a.m., McQuade—vacationing in Orlando at the time—posted his first threat, telling Omar to “go back to Somalia before its too late” and calling her a slur. Eight minutes later he sent a second message, promising to kill her children “in front of you then cut your head off.” His plea states that he was motivated by Omar’s position as a member of Congress and by her official actions.
Omar, the first Somali-American to serve in Congress, has endured years of racist and violent threats, many fueled by political attacks from President Trump. Only last week, Trump described Omar and Somali-Americans as “garbage” during a televised cabinet meeting and called for her to be “thrown the hell out of our country.” Omar has said that the threats have escalated sharply since October, when she faced backlash for criticizing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “This is very real,” she told NBC News. “I fear for my children.”
Capitol Police began investigating shortly after 8 a.m. the day McQuade posted the threats. Agents went to his apartment that evening, but he was out of town. When agents called him and identified themselves, he hung up. They returned two days later and attempted an interview, the plea says, though the details remain unclear. Prosecutors charged him on December 2, and McQuade entered his guilty plea that same day. He faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. His hearing is set for December 22 in Tampa federal court.
The case arrives during what experts say is the most volatile year on record for threats against public officials. Seamus Hughes, a researcher specializing in violent extremism at the University of Nebraska Omaha, told The Independent that 2025 has already produced more federal arrests for threats than any year in at least a decade. He warned of a growing subset of Americans who view murderous threats as an acceptable form of political expression. “It never is, it never should be, and hopefully… it never will be,” Hughes said.
McQuade’s attorney, Andrew Searle, did not respond to requests for comment. Omar’s office also did not comment on the case, but the charging documents leave no doubt that she was the intended victim. The threats join a long line of violent rhetoric that has trailed her since she entered Congress—and once again underscore the real-world danger lawmakers face when political rage crosses the line into explicit promises of harm.
