Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has detailed the moments federal agents conducted an early-morning raid at her home in Washington, D.C., describing the event as an attempt to intimidate her. Omar said she was asleep when she heard loud pounding on her doors around 3 a.m.
“You don’t show up to somebody’s house that early in the morning unless you’re trying to freak them out,” Omar said in an interview. She initially believed there was a fire or an evacuation related to a neighbor's safety until she saw agents wearing Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) vests. Upon opening the door, agents presented her with a warrant.
Omar also stated that agents asked her to sign a document waiving the constitutional protections afforded to members of Congress, which she declined, calling the request "obnoxious."
The raid, which lasted approximately four to five hours and involved up to 25 agents, resulted in the seizure of 17 items. These included her personal phone, her youngest daughter's first phone, her husband's notebooks, a camera, and a Somali phrasebook. Omar indicated that she plans to move from her home due to safety concerns for her children and the public knowledge of her address.
Omar, who made history in 2018 as the first Somali American elected to Congress, has been a frequent target of criticism from former President Donald Trump. Trump has previously suggested Omar should be deported and recently claimed, without evidence, that she could face jail time or deportation, referring to her as a "disgrace" and Somalia as a "shithouse."
No criminal charges against Omar have been announced.