After a Federal Raid on Her Home, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Decides to Move Out of Her Washington House
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has said she will move out of her home in Washington, DC, after federal agents raided the property last week. She said the decision was driven by safety concerns.
In an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Omar spoke about the raid for the first time, saying the incident has made her feel unsafe in the house.
Last week, officers searched her home under what a Justice Department spokesperson described as a 'judicially authorised search warrant', adding that the raid was part of an 'ongoing federal criminal investigation'.
Citing one person familiar with the matter, NBC News reported that potential future charges against Omar may include conspiracy and making false statements in her immigration paperwork. Omar denies wrongdoing and accuses the administration of political intimidation.
Born in Somalia, Omar is a naturalised US citizen. In the interview she said, 'I am confident in the fact that I didn't do anything wrong.'
The progressive Minnesota Democrat has been both a frequent critic and a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who has on multiple occasions pushed for the prosecution of people he sees as political enemies.
Earlier this week, Trump called the congresswoman 'sick' and 'dishonest' and insulted her birthplace in crude terms.
Omar, who is Muslim, has for years been the target of right-wing conspiracy theories about her immigration status, including allegations that she had married her brother. She has repeatedly denied the allegations as 'disgusting lies'.
In the interview, Omar recalled waking up at about 6am to Homeland Security investigators banging on her door with a warrant. They searched for four or five hours and seized 17 items, including phones, notebooks, a Somali-language children's book and a vintage camera her husband had received as a gift.
Omar came to the United States with her family at age 12, after they obtained asylum. She became a US citizen five years later, in 2000. She said in the interview that indicting a 12-year-old for supposedly conspiring to defraud immigration services would be a huge leap — there are many smart 12-year-olds, but that seems implausible.
The search drew sharp condemnation from congressional Democrats, who also questioned its timing, weeks out from the November 3 midterm elections that will decide control of the House and Senate. The Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative actions involving candidates in the immediate run-up to an election. Omar is running for re-election in a deep blue district in Minneapolis and is expected to retain her seat.
Omar said the agents were 'intrusive but polite', logging the items they took and putting everything else back in its place. Still, she is firm about leaving the house — after the incident, it no longer feels safe to her.
