In a fiery statement, former President Donald Trump has directed sharp criticism at Minnesota lawmakers, accusing them of permitting fraudulent activities within the state. He also issued a stark threat towards Representative Ilhan Omar, suggesting she deserves incarceration.
The Trump administration has long scrutinized Minnesota, alleging that state officials overlooked the misuse of federal funds. This scrutiny was amplified following the conviction of Aimee Bock, 44, who faced several charges including fraud, bribery, and conspiracy for diverting funds meant for the nonprofit organization, Feeding Our Future.
This legal battle has brought Minnesota’s welfare programs into the spotlight, as prosecutors claim that as much as half of the $18 billion in federal aid allocated to the state since 2018 might have been misappropriated.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump contends that the scale of fraud in Minnesota surpasses $19 billion. He accused the Biden Administration of being aware of the fraudulent activities yet failing to act. “The Biden Administration knew this FRAUD was happening and did absolutely nothing about it,” he asserted.
Furthermore, Trump targeted Representative Ilhan Omar in his tirade, labeling her a “scammer” and suggesting severe repercussions. He wrote, “‘Scammer’ Ilhan Omar and her absolutely terrible friends from Somalia should all be in jail right now or, far worse, send them back to Somalia.”
‘“Scammer” Illhan Omar and her absolutely terrible friends from Somalia should all be in jail right now or, far worse, send them back to Somalia,’ the continued.
‘“Governor” Waltz is either the most CORRUPT government official in history, or the most INCOMPETENT. Even a very low IQ person, of which there are many, should have known what was going on in Minnesota!!!’
Minnesota lawmakers have been at odds with the Trump administration, as the president continues to hurl accusations of fraud, attacks against the state’s Somali community, and heightened raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
President Donald Trump, pictured above in the Oval Office on Friday, penned a scathing message to Minnesota lawmakers on Truth Social
Trump threatened Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, pictured above on Tuesday, with jail time or a fate ‘far worse’ in a social media rant on Saturday morning
Trump’s rant also issued a bizarre attack against Governor Tim Walz, pictured above with his wife Gwen last August. Trump called Walz the ‘most corrupt government official in history’ on Saturday morning
The saga began when Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson announced in December that Minnesota-based companies and nonprofits were using federal funds for personal gain.
‘The magnitude cannot be overstated,’ Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis.
‘What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.’
Governor Tim Walz has long been a subject of Trump’s wrath, with the president using the allegations to claim that Minnesota is a ‘hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.’
Walz has condemned the fraud cases in his state and initiated a third-party audit of 14 high-risk Medicaid programs.
The Feeding Our Future scandal dates back to 2022, when 47 people were accused of funneling $250 million in federal funds for their own use.
Bock was accused of overseeing the fraud scheme along with dozens of her associates and co-defendants, many of whom were of Somali descent.
Trump used the case to justify several racist attacks against the Somali community, accusing them of ‘ripping off’ Minnesota, and referring to them as ‘garbage.’
Representative Ilhan Omar, pictured above with her husband, Tim Mynett in 2023, has been a frequent target of Trump’s verbal attacks
Aimee Bock, pictured above in 2022, pleaded guilty to several fraud and conspiracy charges for falsely applying for federal funds through the nonprofit, Feeding Our Future
He told reporters in December that he ‘didn’t want’ Somalians in the state and has called them ‘garbage.’
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said Somalis living in the US on a Temporary Protective Status (TPS) would have to leave the country by March 17.
TPS is granted to immigrants from countries that have been destabilized, impoverished, or face a humanitarian crisis. Former President Joe Biden renewed TPS for Somalis in 2022.
Civilians in Somalia are subject to abuses carried out by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab. The country has also faced a devastating food crisis.
Sources previously told Fox News that there are roughly 2,500 Somalis living in the US under TPS. Over half of them still have pending applications.
‘They came in through Biden’s open borders, and we’re getting them out of our country,’ Trump said of the decision to revoke TPS for Somalis.
‘That’s why our crime numbers are so good. We have record-low crime numbers.’
Trump has also levied a slew of attacks against Omar, who was born in Somalia before fleeing the country.
Omar was attacked by an angry protester while speaking at a Minneapolis town hall on Tuesday night.
The man, identified as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, lunged at Omar while she spoke and sprayed a liquid on her from a syringe. It later turned out the liquid was apple cider vinegar.
Trump, pictured above at the White House on Friday, has previously said that Somalis, who make up a significant portion of Minnesota’s population, are ‘garbage’ and has ordered them out of the country
Just before the incident, Trump slammed Omar at a rally in Iowa, telling his supporters that only immigrants who ‘can show that they love our country’ would be allowed to stay in the US.
‘They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,’ he continued.
‘She comes from a country that´s a disaster. So probably, it´s considered, I think – it´s not even a country.’
When Trump was later asked to react to Omar’s attack, he said that he didn’t ‘think about her.’
In response to Trump’s remarks, Omar questioned whether Trump was ‘suffering from dementia’ and pointed out that he spoke about her extensively at his rally.
‘What the facts have shown since I have gotten into elected office is that every time the President of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,’ she added.
While Omar has stood defiant against Trump, Walz recently announced during an interview with MS NOW that he ‘will never run for an elected office again.’
‘There’s other ways to serve,’ Walz added. ‘And I’ll find them.’
