A Minneapolis couple, Brian and Jen Wagner, accused of racially abusing two Somali sisters house-shopping in their neighborhood, now claim they were subjected to anti-white slurs before the viral confrontation. The Wagners were involved in an argument with the sisters, identified only as Hamdi and Sumaya, last month in Shakopee, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. A video of the encounter, shared online, showed Brian Wagner telling the sisters, "Nobody wants you here. Not a single person here wants you. I can smell you from here."
Brian Wagner told Alpha News that the widely circulated footage was a "shortened, selective clip" that did not show the events leading up to his reaction. He stated that the sisters used racial slurs against him, including "f****** white cracker" and "redneck," before they began recording. A "cracker" is an offensive term for a white person.
The Wagners' legal representation, Seidlich Law, stated that the video was being "weaponized" to "create a false narrative to negatively characterize the Wagner family as 'racist.'" The law firm asserted that the "incomplete video is being used to coordinate a cyberbullying campaign against an honest, patriotic, kind, and hard-working family." They "categorically deny" any implications of racial targeting and accused the person filming of "playing the victim."
Brian Wagner also claimed in the video that he questioned the sisters about their finances, saying, "Where’d you get your money for the house? All you do is steal." He reportedly referenced ongoing fraud investigations in Minnesota connected to the Somali community.
In contrast, the sisters told Kare11 that their first interaction with the Wagners was when Brian Wagner stated, "we don't want you guys here." They said they were approached by the couple after leaving a home tour. Sumaya expressed heartbreak over the generalization, stating, "To take an entire group and say the whole Somali population commits fraud is heartbreaking." She added that they were born and raised in the U.S., with parents who had been in the country for a long time, and described themselves as hardworking individuals who do not own businesses.
The sisters indicated their intention to file a police report against the Wagners. Meanwhile, Brian Wagner claimed that he had lost his job and his wife's daycare business had been targeted. The couple also reported receiving numerous threatening texts and voicemails, leading them to change their phone numbers. Their legal team is pursuing prosecution for any alleged criminal acts committed against them. The Wagners described themselves as "lifelong Minnesotans and proud Americans" seeking to move forward from the incident.