She’s running for Congress–and from the law.
Local Minnesota authorities are on the lookout for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) Republican challenger, Danielle Stella, who failed to appear in court after she was charged with theft.
Staffers at the Hennepin County District Court and the county sheriff’s office confirmed to TPM that a judge had issued an arrest warrant after Stella skipped her hearing on October 31.
“We can confirm that she does have an active felony theft warrant in Hennepin County,” Jeremy Zoss, the sheriff’s director of communications, said in an emailed statement.
The warrant was first reported by the Daily Beast.
Stella allegedly shoplifted over $2,000 worth of items from Target in January 2019, then approximately $40 in “cat merchandise” from a grocery store several months later.
The GOP candidate insisted she was innocent when the Guardian first reported on the charges in July.
“I am not guilty of these crimes,” she told the Guardian. “In this country I am innocent until proven guilty and that is the law.”
In addition to the alleged shoplifting, Stella is infamous for her bombastic attacks on Omar and peddling racist conspiracy theories about the Somali-born congresswoman.
Twitter permanently suspended the Republican in November after she suggested that the Omar ought to be “hanged” for treason.
“My suspension for advocating for the enforcement of federal code proves Twitter will always side with and fight to protect terrorists, traitors, pedophiles and rapists,” Stella said in response to the ban.
