A 2013 social media post deleted by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has resurfaced as federal investigators scrutinize questions about her identity and immigration history. In the post, Omar appeared to identify her father by a name different from one used in other public records.
“Happy Father’s Day to my aabo Nur Said, I am forever grateful to Allah for giving me the best father …,” Omar wrote in the June 2013 post, which was deleted in 2019.
Multiple records, including a 2020 Congressional Black Caucus memorial honoring Omar’s father after his death, identify him as “Nur Omar Mohamed.”
The deleted X post, however, referred to him as “Nur Said,” a name that resembles the name of Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
Omar removed the post on the morning of Sept. 19, 2019.
The post’s archived version, originally reported by the Daily Caller in 2019, resurfaced after federal agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., home Oct. 12. The search was conducted as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into possible false statements on immigration and naturalization documents. Omar and her office have repeatedly rejected allegations that Elmi, whom she once married, is her brother.
Omar has also denied any wrongdoing in the investigation, describing the federal inquiry as a politically motivated attack.
In Somali naming traditions, a person’s name typically includes their given name, their father’s given name and their paternal grandfather’s given name. A similarity between names, by itself, does not prove that two people are related.
A statement attributed to Omar’s spokesperson and widely recirculated online said “Nur Said” was her father’s childhood nickname and that he operated a public page under that name. The statement also claimed the post was deleted after Omar and her family received threats.
Omar’s office did not respond Friday to Fox News Digital’s request for comment regarding the deleted post.
Some reports have likewise referred to Omar’s father as “Nur Said.” In one New York Post article about his alleged military background, Oxford University historian Mohamed Haji Ingiriis identified him by that name.
Fox News has not independently confirmed whether Omar’s father was named Nur Said Elmi Mohamed, as alleged, rather than Nur Omar Mohamed.
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In a statement Thursday to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Omar said the congresswoman has “repeatedly and unequivocally denied” what the spokesperson called the “baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory” that she married her brother.
The spokesperson also cited an interview Omar gave Wednesday on MS NOW, during which she was asked whether Elmi might have been a “distant relative.”
“Not to my knowledge,” Omar responded.
Court documents tied to the federal search warrant for Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence, first obtained by Fox News Digital, list her as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, aka Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” The filing does not explain the reason for the reference or demonstrate that Omar used a false identity.
Omar told Fox News Digital Friday that her “real name” is “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” not “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.”
“Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it,” she said when asked about her name. “It’s Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
Omar divorced Elmi in 2017. She legally married Ahmed Hirsi the following year.
Two people familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital that “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi” could be Omar’s legal name. Omar’s office has disputed that claim.
A former Minnesota federal immigration judge told Fox News Digital that, if investigators establish Omar knowingly used a false name on federal forms, the matter could potentially fall under the federal false statements statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Applying the law would depend on the documents involved, whether any alleged misstatement was material and what evidence exists regarding Omar’s intent.
The Justice Department did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.
