Omar to leave her DC home, vows defiance after federal raid
Rep. Ilhan Omar says she no longer feels safe after federal search tied to investigation into her family's immigration paperwork, but pledges to keep campaigning
WASHINGTON (MNTV) – Representative Ilhan Omar says she will move out of her Washington home after a federal search left her feeling unsafe, even as she vows to resist what she calls an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate its political opponents before the November elections.
Federal agents searched Omar’s residence last week as part of a criminal investigation into alleged fraud involving her family’s immigration paperwork.
A person briefed on the case told The Associated Press that grand jury subpoenas had also been issued to some of her relatives. Officials have disclosed little, and the allegations have not been tested in court. Speaking to MS NOW in her first interview since the search, Omar said Homeland Security investigators knocked at about 6 a.m. with a warrant and spent four to five hours inside, seizing 17 items including phones, notebooks, a children’s book in Somali and a vintage camera her husband had received as a gift.
Omar, who came to the United States at age 12 after her family obtained asylum and became a citizen in 2000, questioned the premise of the inquiry.
“It would be a huge undertaking to, I suppose, indict a 12-year-old for so cleverly conspiring to defraud immigration services to come to the United States,” she said.
She said the publicity had cost her a sense of security and prompted her decision to move.
In a video on Oct. 20, Omar struck a defiant tone, thanking supporters for small donations and vowing to campaign on.
“We’re not going to be intimidated, we’re not going to be silenced. We’re not going to be scared,” she said, pledging to help Democrats “win the House, win the Senate and hold this administration accountable.” The remarks came after Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, said Omar “could go to jail” — before any charges had been filed.
Congressional Democrats have condemned the search and its timing so close to the vote. Omar represents Minnesota’s heavily Democratic 5th District, where she faces Republican John Nagel and is widely expected to win reelection.
No conclusion about her conduct can be drawn from the search alone, and any allegation must be weighed through due process and the presumption of innocence.
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