US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says her 'life's at risk' after Trump tweets fake 9/11 video

American congresswoman Ilhan Omar says her life is 'at risk' after Donald Trump tweeted a fake video of her. Photo / AP

An American congresswoman says her life is "at risk" after Donald Trump tweeted a fake video of her appearing to celebrate on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The video, which Mr Trump retweeted from conservative media personality Terrence Williams, shows American-Somalian congresswoman Ilhan Omar dancing at a party. A fuming Williams said she was disrespecting the memory of the September 11 attacks.

But the footage of Ms Omar dancing actually came from a September 13 event hosted by Congressional Black Caucus, which had no connection to the anniversary of the attacks, reports News.com.au.

"Ilhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota," the President tweeted. "The new face of the Democrat Party!"

IIhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democrat Party! https://t.co/aQFEygSa4D

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2019

Ms Omar blasted the false smear, saying the tweet had put her life at risk.

This is from a CBC event we hosted this weekend to celebrate black women in Congress.

The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk.

What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation? https://t.co/XdkRVrU7mZ

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 18, 2019

The young Muslim congresswoman — who has been branded a member of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "squad" — has frequently been targeted by the President.

In July, he suggested she had married her own brother to commit immigration fraud — a baseless claim based on a single, anonymous message-board post.

Social media users quickly pointed out that the video had been taken on Friday, two days after the anniversary, while Omar was attending events related to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference in Washington.

Others called for Twitter to remove the tweet or suspend Williams' account. Hours after Trump retweeted Williams' video, the original tweet was removed.

The video was deleted by the user, and Twitter did not take action on the tweet, the tech company said in an email. The President's tweet remains live, although without the video, and users have continued to respond.

Mr Trump has used his Twitter account to spread misinformation from Williams before. In August, the President shared another one of Williams' videos, which disputed, without evidence, that the late financier Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide while in federal custody.