Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said she plans to move her family to a new home because her Washington address is now public and she faces death threats, in her first interview since federal agents searched her home on October 12. “Obviously, I can’t continue to live there,” Omar told MS NOW host Chris Hayes, as reported by TheWrap. “Because our address has been public and with the death threats that I deal with, it’s no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids visiting off and on, having people track them.”

Source: TheWrap

Omar said she was woken at 6 a.m. on October 12 with federal agents surrounding her home in Washington, D.C. She said agents presented the warrant, moved room by room for nearly five hours and took custody of 17 personal items, including her phone, her daughter’s phone and her husband’s notebooks. About 10 to 15 Homeland Security Investigations agents pounded on her door, she told Hayes, in reporting carried by The Guardian. “You don’t show up to somebody’s house that early in the morning unless you’re trying to freak them out,” she said — her characterisation of the operation, which federal authorities have described as a judicially authorised search in an ongoing criminal investigation.

Source: The Guardian via NewsBeep

17personal items Omar said agents seized, including phones
Oct. 12date of the federal search of Omar's Washington home
6 a.m.time Omar said agents arrived, within a 6 a.m.–10 p.m. warrant window she cited

The investigation is examining whether false statements were made about Omar’s age by her father when she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000, TheWrap reported. Omar emigrated from Somalia to the United States with her family as a child. Those are allegations under investigation, not proven facts, and neither interview report said any charge had been filed against Omar in connection with the search.

Omar denied wrongdoing. “I’m confident in my truth. I’m confident in the fact that I didn’t do anything wrong,” she told Hayes. In a post on X after the raid she wrote: “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. I will not be silenced.” That is Omar’s allegation; the administration has not accepted it.

President Donald Trump, asked at the White House on Tuesday whether Omar could face deportation over alleged misstatements in her immigration paperwork, replied: “Well, she could be. She could also go to jail,” and called her a “sick, very dishonest person who hates our country,” The Guardian reported. A White House representative did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the interview, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond regarding Omar’s remarks, according to the reports.

What is solid

  • Federal agents searched Omar's Washington home on October 12 under a search warrant in an ongoing criminal investigation.
  • Omar said in her first interview since the search that agents seized 17 items and that she plans to move because her address is public and she receives death threats.
  • Omar denied wrongdoing in the interview.

What is only claimed

  • Allegations that false statements were made in Omar's immigration paperwork — under investigation, not proven, and denied by Omar.
  • Omar's allegation that the search was political intimidation designed to frighten her — the administration has not accepted that characterisation.

For Punjabi and other immigrant readers in the United States, the case is being watched closely because it sits at the crossing of immigration enforcement, citizenship records from decades ago and elected office. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security or Omar’s office issue a further statement, or if any charge is filed.