Ilhan Omar says raid on her home is forcing her to leave Washington residence
US Representative Ilhan Omar says she can no longer live in her Washington home after federal agents searched it, fearing her address is now exposed. The government has not said what crime she is suspected of.
Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, a member of the US House of Representatives, says she can no longer live in her Washington DC home after federal agents searched it before dawn last week. She fears her address has been exposed. The search was part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation, the nature of which the government has not explained.
"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," she told MS NOW. It is her first public interview since the search.
How the search unfolded
Omar said agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a unit of the US Department of Homeland Security, began pounding on the doors at around 06:00 Eastern time on 12 October. She and her husband were in bed at the time. By her estimate, 15 to 25 agents surrounded the house, and she said they conducted themselves decently. She was shown a warrant after asking for one.
The search lasted roughly five hours. Agents left with 17 items, including several mobile phones, notebooks and her husband's camera from the 1960s. Personal computers and her passport were also reportedly taken. More than a dozen subpoenas have been issued to members of her family.
Political context
The search followed comments from officials casting doubt on Omar's US citizenship, which she received in 2000 after arriving from Kenya. Omar has called the investigation an abuse of power and an attempt to intimidate political opponents. Former President Barack Obama described it as "so appalling".
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly suggested Omar "go back" to Somalia, denies involvement and says the matter has "nothing to do with me". Omar rejects that, arguing he has everything to do with it.
