Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar says she can no longer live in her Washington DC home after federal agents searched it last week. She fears that the raid has exposed her address.
In her first public interview since the pre-dawn search, Omar told MS NOW that threats against her made staying in the house unworkable while her children are there. “With the death threats that I deal with, it’s not, it’s no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids,” she said.
Agents seize devices and documents during overnight search
Omar described how Homeland Security Investigations agents took more than a dozen items, including cell phones and notebooks, as part of an investigation. Reports said her personal computers and passport were also among the seized items. More than a dozen subpoenas have been issued to members of her family in connection with the probe.
According to Omar, agents began pounding on the doors of her home at around 06:00 EDT (11:00 BST) on 12 October. She and her husband were in bed and were jolted awake. The couple rushed downstairs, and she said they were shouting as they tried to understand what was happening. She called the episode “so bizarre”.
Omar estimated that between 15 and 25 agents surrounded the property, and said they “conducted themselves in a decent way.” Agents showed her a warrant at the door after she asked to see one. She then watched from her couch as they spent roughly five hours moving from room to room. They left with 17 items, among them several cellphones, notebooks and her husband’s camera from the 1960s.
Government silent on charges as citizenship doubts surface
The government has not said what crime Omar is accused of. It has described the raid only as “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” The search follows several comments from officials that cast doubt on Omar’s US citizenship, which she received in 2000 after arriving from Kenya.
Requests for comment were sent to the Justice Department after the Department of Homeland Security referred them there. Omar again criticised the investigation, suggesting it was designed to intimidate her. Immediately after the raid, she posted a statement calling it “an outrageous abuse of power” and a “weaponisation of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”
Former President Barack Obama has also criticised the federal probe. In a lengthy statement, he called it “so appalling.”
Trump’s remarks draw sharp response from Omar
Omar has represented Minnesota since 2018 and has long been a target of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly suggested she should “go back” to Somalia. Trump has denied any involvement in her investigation, saying it has “nothing to do with me.” At an Ohio rally in October, he referred to the search, saying: “I don’t know what they’re doing with it, but I can tell you this: she’s a disaster.”
Omar rejected his position, arguing that he has everything to do with the matter. She linked the current situation to 2019, when, she said, Trump had demanded that she be sent back and deported.
