Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) walked through the federal search of her Washington, D.C., home during her first interview about it. MS NOW host Chris Hayes also asked whether a long-running claim of marriage to her brother held any “weird kernel of truth,” and she answered, “Not to my knowledge.”
According to the New York Post, the claim involves her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar called it “insane.” She stated that it began on a “Somali blog” and that somebody claimed “he had to have been my brother or something to that effect.” She blamed “right-wing conspiracy theorists” for spreading it and argued that they “found random people” to support it.
Hayes also raised her finances. He stated that a financial disclosure had initially valued her husband’s firm at $30 million, before an accountant added its liabilities and the figure fell to about $20,000. Omar characterized herself as “working class” and stated she lives “paycheck to paycheck.” “I have a Toyota Camry that’s from 2016,” she told Hayes. “It’s our only car.”
Omar details the search and open inquiries
The search began around 6 a.m. when agents knocked with a warrant, and it lasted four or five hours. Omar recalled, “I thought something was on fire.” She estimated that 15 to 25 agents took part. The Justice Department has described the warrant as judicially authorized, and HSI agents searched Omar’s home under it.
Omar stated that agents “went room by room” and took 17 items, including phones, notebooks, a Somali-language book and a vintage camera her husband received as a gift. A phone belonging to her youngest daughter was among them. She stated that agents brought papers requesting a waiver tied to speech or debate immunity, which she declined.
She rejected reports about her DNA being collected. “I would have seen if they did take anything that had contained DNA,” she stated. She agreed with Hayes’s description of the agents as “intrusive but polite” and stated, “I think they mostly conducted themselves in a decent way.” She added, “They did a really good job in putting everything back in its place.”
Omar stated that she plans to move because the attention has made her feel unsafe there. “I can’t continue to live there,” she told Hayes, citing “the death threats that I deal with.” Omar arrived in the U.S. at age 12 after her family won asylum and became a citizen in 2000. Asked about a possible prosecution, she told Hayes an indictment of a 12-year-old would be “a huge undertaking” and that the idea “seems like a leap.” She added, “I’m confident in my truth,” and, “I’m going to be just fine.”
Federal authorities are examining potential fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork, and a person briefed on the case stated that grand jury subpoenas went to some relatives. The Wall Street Journal stated that investigators are examining the age on that paperwork. The Justice Department has described it only as a criminal investigation; no charges have been announced. Congressional Democrats condemned the search and questioned its timing before the Nov. 3 midterms.
After the search, Omar posted a one-minute video in which she stated, “We’re not going to be intimidated,” and asked supporters for small donations. Omar denies wrongdoing in both the immigration and finance matters.
Published: Oct 22, 2026 10:54 am