Rep. Ilhan Omar said she intends to keep voting in Minnesota as federal authorities investigate aspects of her immigration history, dismissing questions about whether the probe could put her US citizenship at risk.
Omar made the brief remarks after casting her ballot in Minnesota, where she is seeking reelection while investigators examine allegations that she married her brother, misrepresented her birth date and used an alias.
Federal agents searched the Minnesota Democrat’s Washington, DC, residence on Oct. 12 and confiscated her cellphone. Grand jury subpoenas have also been issued to several members of her family.
Omar has denied any wrongdoing, describing the investigation as politically driven. Authorities have not announced any charges.
A federal filing identifies her by the full name “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,” rather than the name by which she is widely known. Elmi was the surname of her former husband, who has long been the subject of rumors that he was her brother. The filing indicates that investigators believe they have evidence she was born under that name.
When reporters asked whether it might be her final opportunity to vote, Omar responded defiantly: “No, and I’ll continue to vote.”
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She quickly left the scene, adding that federal officials had not informed her of anything in the investigation that could jeopardize her status as a US citizen.
Soon afterward, Omar criticized President Trump on X, calling him the leader of the “pedophile protection party” and accusing him of pursuing her through what she described as “the most corrupt DOJ in American history.”
“Whether the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar,” she wrote.
Omar also urged the public to scrutinize Vice President JD Vance’s name rather than focusing on hers.
A Somali-born naturalized US citizen, Omar won her first congressional election in 2018. She represents Minnesota’s strongly Democratic 5th Congressional District.
According to sources, the investigation is focused on allegations that Omar or her late father supplied inaccurate information on immigration documents after the family fled Somalia in the 1990s. Investigators are examining whether any such information could have affected her route to US citizenship. Authorities are also reviewing DNA evidence related to claims that her former husband was her brother.
Investigators are reviewing her father’s immigration records as well. In a separate Justice Department inquiry, officials are examining Omar’s financial disclosures after she amended a filing that initially listed million dollars in assets, later blaming the discrepancy on an accounting error.
