Rep. Ilhan Omar says she ‘will not be silenced’ after federal agents search home

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., accused the Trump administration of “political intimidation” after federal agents searched her home in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

The search was part of a criminal investigation based on allegations of fraud, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the matter told MS NOW. The source was granted anonymity in order to speak about the ongoing investigation.

“I’m ok,” Omar wrote Monday in a post on X after multiple agents wearing Homeland Security Investigations jackets were seen at her home that morning. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she continued. “I will not be silenced.”

The search stems from a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman’s immigration paperwork, Fox News reported, citing two sources close to the probe. The outlet was the first to report news of the search.

When asked for comment, the Department of Justice said in a statement to MS NOW, “Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”

The DOJ did not provide additional details. Jackie Rogers, a spokesperson for Omar’s office, called the search “an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies,” when reached by MS NOW for comment.

“The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong,” Rogers said. “No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”

Omar, who is running for a fifth term representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, is the first Somali American elected to Congress. She is a prominent member of a group of progressive women lawmakers known as The Squad. She has been a frequent target of attacks from President Donald Trump, who has demanded she be investigated over her immigration status.

Hours after the raid, Trump criticized Omar while speaking to his supporters at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, calling the Minnesota congresswoman a “disaster.”

“Just look at what’s happening in the once-great state of Minnesota. … what a mess they have done,” Trump said. “That Ilhan … she’s a disaster.”

“She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, with all that they shoot each other,” the president continued. “And she comes into our country and she says, ‘I have a constitutional right.’ She’s telling us about the Constitution and she comes from one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet.”

The search of Omar’s home would appear to run contrary to long-standing DOJ policy to avoid taking overt investigative steps against a political candidate close to an election. The policy is based on the idea that it is unfair to a candidate to raise the specter of a criminal investigation that cannot be resolved before voters go to the polls.

Republicans, including Trump himself, criticized the Biden Justice Department and special counsel Jack Smith for taking action in the Trump investigations in the fall of 2024 as the presidential election approached.

Trump administration officials have floated a potential investigation into Omar over her citizenship status.

“It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody’s entitled to equal justice under the laws,” Vance told reporters in May when asked about a possible probe into Omar. “So we’re going to investigate it. We’re going to take a look at it. If we think there’s a crime, we’re going to prosecute that crime.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that federal investigators were continuing to look into Omar, suggesting the congresswoman “married her brother to try to bring him into the United States.” Omar has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them “baseless rumors.”

“Americans see this for what it is – President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Monday in his post on X sharing The Associated Press’ report on the search.

Trump in January said Congress and the DOJ were “looking at” Omar, who he alleged had “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”

That comment came as the Trump administration faced widespread backlash over its aggressive federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Trump included Omar in his larger criticism of the state’s Somali American community.

“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass.; and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said in a joint statement. “Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.”

The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says she ‘will not be silenced’ after federal agents search home appeared first on MS NOW.

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