Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) made her first public appearance since federal agents raided her Washington, D.C. home on Oct. 12, showing up Friday at a Minneapolis polling place alongside Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Both are up for reelection.
Omar cast an early ballot, then left quickly without stopping for a planned news conference, avoiding most reporter questions as she went.
Reporters did get in a few questions before she departed. Asked whether she had been briefed on the warrants connected to the investigation, Omar said, “They haven’t said anything.”
Asked if this might be her last chance to vote in the city, she said, “Nope, I continue to vote,” adding that reporters should “remind everyone to vote.”
The appearance capped a turbulent two weeks for the congresswoman. After going unseen publicly following the Oct. 12 raid, she posted a TikTok video from Minneapolis on Tuesday night asking supporters for money. The next day, an MS NOW interview went viral after Omar was asked whether she is related to her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, amid allegations he may be her brother. Her answer: “Not to my knowledge.”
Questions Over Her Legal Name
The federal investigation centers on immigration questions and allegations tied to financial disclosures. A federal filing listed Omar’s name as Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, also known as Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, and indicated additional material could surface because the search warrant had not been “fully executed.”
Omar responded on X, writing: “The pedophile protection party’s president is laundering right-wing conspiracy theories through the most corrupt DOJ in American history. Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar. Maybe you should focus on what your VP’s real name is.”
She disabled replies on the post, though it remains visible to quote-tweets.
No new details on the scope of the federal investigation, including whether it touches on Omar’s naturalization status, have been made public.
