Forced To Leave - Ilhan Omar Announces Drastic Move After Raid

Rep. Ilhan Omar says she woke to federal agents at her Washington home and now plans to move, describing the October 12 search as unsettling even as she characterized the agents’ conduct as professional.

In an interview Wednesday with MS NOW host Chris Hayes, the Minnesota Democrat recalled hearing agents “pounding” at the door.

“I woke up to pounding on my door,” Omar said. She initially wondered whether “something was on fire.” Her husband, Tim Mynett, went downstairs and found agents at the entrance, while others were outside.

“They basically surrounded the house,” she said.

Omar said agents searched room by room for four or five hours and took 17 items. She identified cellphones, notebooks belonging to Mynett, a camera, her passport and a Somali phrase book among the property seized. She described the search as “intrusive but polite.”

The search was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under a court-authorized warrant as part of a federal inquiry into possible false statements or fraud involving Omar’s family immigration records. Omar has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. A search warrant permits investigators to collect evidence; it does not establish guilt.

Omar said the attention surrounding the search has made her feel unsafe at the residence and that she no longer believes she can stay there. The investigation has also involved grand jury subpoenas to relatives and an interview with her sister, Sahra Noor, according to reports.

The inquiry concerns Omar’s immigration and citizenship history, including information provided when she came to the United States from Somalia as a child. Omar has said she became a citizen in 2000 through her father.

The interview also revived longstanding allegations that Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, was her brother and that their marriage was arranged for immigration purposes. Omar called the claim “insane.” Asked whether she and Elmi were related, she replied, “Not to my knowledge,” a response that has drawn attention. No publicly released evidence has established that Elmi is her brother, and Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation.

Omar also disputed reports about DNA evidence in the broader investigation. News accounts have said investigators obtained genetic material that could be relevant to questions about family relationships, but no public test results have established that Omar and Elmi are related.

Because Omar is a member of Congress, the judge who approved the search imposed procedures to protect potentially privileged legislative materials under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. Omar’s attorneys have separately challenged how authorities handled the search; the Justice Department has said investigators complied with court orders and legal obligations.

Omar has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of politically targeting her. The investigation remains unresolved, and the search itself does not determine whether any crime occurred.