(Crosscut) Wherever U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar goes, layers of security follow. The freshman congresswoman’s visit to Washington state on Saturday was no exception.
At Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, where Omar spoke Saturday night at a sold-out fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Washington (CAIR-WA), police from various departments — Bellevue, King County, Bothell, Redmond, Mercer Island and the Washington State Patrol — stationed themselves inside the building, where some operated metal detectors. They were outside the building as well, guarding both the entrance to the building and various corners of the Seattle suburb’s downtown area.
Officers had spent two weeks preparing for the CAIR-WA event attended by approximately 700 people, said Bellevue Police Department spokesperson Meeghan Black. She said officers brainstormed about every possible scenario, including an attempt on Omar’s life.
