Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she was ‘afraid’ of Americans after 9/11: ‘I got really curious and really angry’

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) says that she was "afraid" of Americans in the days following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

What are the details?

Tlaib made the admission in a segment filmed for Makers. She said that she was in law school in 2001 when the deadly attacks — which killed nearly 3,000 people — occurred.

"I was probably my second year in law school when 9/11 happened," Tlaib said. "And I was — I was really terrified of what was going to happen to my husband, who's only a green card holder at the time."

Tlaib said that she went into a panic and phoned her family to warn them.

"I immediately called my brothers and told them to be very careful who you hang out with, telling my sisters, you know, just be real careful out there, and being really afraid of my fellow Americans," she admitted. "It really pushed me to be more involved, and I got really curious and really angry. And I think that combination got me, you know, in front of a number of issues in the city of Detroit."

What else?

Tlaib came under scrutiny earlier in April for defending comments that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) made about 9/11 during a CAIR conference.

In March, Omar seemed to diminish the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying that the attacks took place because "some people did something."

Tlaib defended Omar during an MSNBC appearance.

"[People] do that all the time, especially women of color, they take our words out of context because they're afraid because we speak truth, we speak truth to power," Tlaib said. "This is just pure racist act.

"My sister, Ilhan Omar, what she was talking about, was uplifting people by supporting their civil liberties and civil rights," Tlaib added. "She has always, always condemned any strategy, especially of a person directly impacted by a refugee herself."

Tlaib said that the criticism filled her with rage.

"The fact that people are taking [Omar's] words out of context and endangering the life of Rep. Omar is immoral, it's wrong, and it needs to be called out by many colleagues in saying they need to stop, stop targeting her this way," she said. "It's absolutely putting her life in danger."