Indian-American legislator Pramila Jayapal receives threat messages

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has been receiving abusive and hate messages over the phone from a male caller who even asked her to go back to India. On Thursday, Chennai-born Jayapal posted a collection of five such audio messages.

In all the messages, portions of which have been redacted because of obscene and abusive content, the male caller is heard threatening her with dire consequences and in one instance she is being asked to go back to India.

Jayapal, 55, is the first Indian-American Congresswoman who represents Seattle in the US House of Representatives. "Typically, political figures don't show their vulnerability. I chose to do so here because we cannot accept violence as our new norm. We also cannot accept the racism and sexism that underlies and propels so much of this violence," Jayapal, from the Democratic Party, said in a tweet.