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Ilhan Omar says she will leave her Washington home after federal agents searched it
In her first public remarks on last week's raid, the Minnesota congresswoman said agents took 17 items and that she no longer feels safe there, less than two weeks before she faces voters.
Key points
- Omar said agents spent four or five hours at her home and took 17 items.
- The Justice Department called it a judicially authorised search in an ongoing criminal investigation.
- Omar is seeking re-election in Minneapolis in the 3 November midterms.
US Representative Ilhan Omar says she will move out of her home in Washington DC after federal agents searched it last week, because the raid has left her feeling unsafe there.
In a television interview, her first public comments on the search, the Minnesota Democrat said agents arrived at about 6 am and spent four or five hours inside. They left with 17 items, she said, including phones, notebooks and a vintage camera her husband had been given as a present. She described the agents as “intrusive but polite”.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the agents were executing a “judicially authorised search warrant” as part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation”. The department has not said what the investigation is about. Possible charges could include conspiracy and making false statements on immigration paperwork, according to one person familiar with the matter.
Omar denies any wrongdoing, says she is confident she did nothing wrong and accuses the Trump administration of political intimidation.
Born in Somalia, Omar came to the United States at the age of 12 after her family was granted asylum and became a citizen in 2000. She has faced years of claims from the right about her immigration history, which she calls “disgusting lies”.
President Donald Trump has attacked her repeatedly, recently calling her “sick” and “dishonest”. Congressional Democrats have condemned the search and questioned why it came only weeks before the 3 November midterm elections, in which Omar is running for re-election in her Minneapolis seat.
Her lawyers have already asked for the seized property to be returned.