Rep. Ilhan Omar details alarming early-morning federal raid on her Washington home
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Rep. Ilhan Omar said federal agents carried out a multi-hour search of her Washington residence on Oct. 12, arriving before dawn, seizing personal items and showing a warrant, after which she said the public spectacle and ongoing threats have made the home unsafe for her family.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, told MS NOW that Homeland Security Investigations agents arrived at her Washington home at about 6 a.m. on Oct. 12, banging on the front and back doors and demanding entry in a way she described as deliberately terrifying. She said she and her husband were jolted awake after only a few hours of sleep following a trip, and that her 20-year-old son was also there to witness the unsettling scene.
"Well, I mean, you don’t show up to somebody’s house that early in the morning unless you were trying to freak them out, and, you know, it obviously did freak all of us out," Omar said.
The agents presented a warrant, which Omar reviewed before allowing the search to proceed. She declined to sign a document that would waive certain congressional privileges protected by the Speech or Debate Clause, a safeguard she refused to surrender. The search lasted four to five hours, during which Omar said she was unable to contact her attorney for about an hour.
According to Omar, agents seized 17 items, including old phones belonging to her and her daughter, as well as deeply personal belongings of her husband Tim Mynett, such as a camera, a Somali phrase book and notebooks. She received a receipt after the search and said no DNA sample was requested.
"They did a really good job in putting everything back in its place. They actually even folded some of my clothing that were not folded," Omar said, adding that the agents conducted themselves mostly decently.
Omar said the public nature of the search and ongoing death threats make it unsafe for her family to remain at the address. She rejected President Donald Trump's claim that he had no involvement in the investigation, noting his past statements calling for her deportation and underscoring the hostile political climate surrounding her.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Department of Homeland Security referred inquiries to the Justice Department.