“Because of the death threats I’ve been receiving, it is no longer possible to live in that house and take care of my children,” Omar told MS NOW.
Following the search of her home, Omar described how agents from Homeland Security Investigations seized more than a dozen items, including cellphones and notebooks, as part of an investigation.
The government has not disclosed what crime Omar is suspected of committing, but it has said the raid was part of a “federal criminal investigation.” The search followed several remarks by officials questioning Omar’s US citizenship, which she obtained after arriving from Kenya in 2000.
Members of Omar’s family have also received more than a dozen subpoenas as part of the investigation. Personal computers and passports were reportedly among the items seized.
Recalling the hours-long search of her home in an interview with MS NOW, Omar said, “It obviously freaked us all out.”
Omar said that at around 6:00 am on October 12, agents began “banging really loudly” on the door of her home, startling her and her husband, who were both in bed at the time.
“We were screaming,” she said. When the couple rushed downstairs to find out what was happening, Omar described the situation as “extremely bizarre.”
The Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota estimated that between 15 and 25 agents had surrounded her home. However, she said they all “behaved professionally.”
When Omar asked to see the warrant, the agents showed it to her at the door.
She then sat on the couch and watched as agents searched the house, moving from one room to another for approximately five hours. They eventually left with 17 items, including several cellphones, notebooks and her husband’s camera from the 1960s.
The BBC contacted the Justice Department for comment.
Omar again criticised the government’s investigation, arguing that its purpose was to intimidate her.
Shortly after the raid last week, she issued a statement online describing the operation as a “gross abuse of power” and accusing the government of “weaponising federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”
Former President Barack Obama also strongly criticised the federal investigation, calling it “deeply alarming” in an extensive statement.
Omar, who has represented Minnesota since 2018, has long been a target of President Donald Trump. He has repeatedly suggested that she should return to Somalia.
Trump has denied any involvement in the investigation into Omar, saying it had “nothing to do with me.”
At a rally in Ohio, Trump referred to the search of her home and said, “I don’t know what they’re doing with that, but I can tell you she’s a disaster.”
Omar dismissed the president’s response, arguing that he was fully involved in the matter.
“You know, this goes back to 2019, when he was screaming about how I should be sent back, I should be deported,” she said.
The raid, the seizure of personal belongings and the reported threats against Omar have intensified scrutiny of the investigation, while the government has yet to publicly specify the alleged offence at its centre.
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