Rep. Ilhan Omar posted a video from her car asking supporters for money. She faces a federal probe into her citizenship status that started after agents searched her home.
Homeland Security agents raided her Washington, D.C. residence on October 12 and took her phone and passport. Omar has not been seen in public since that raid, though her daughters were spotted at the house.
The Money Ask
Omar said the funds would help her fight what she calls political intimidation before the midterm elections. She told donors that even small amounts like five or ten dollars would help her team.
“We know that they’re running scared, we’re not going to be intimidated, we’re not going to be silenced, we’re not going to be scared,” she said in the video, according to the New York Post. She promised to campaign hard to win back the House and Senate.
Her husband, Ahmed Hirsi, initially told reporters he had no concerns about the situation. He later snapped at a journalist who asked if his wife had left the country and walked away angrily.
Official Responses
President Donald Trump said Omar could face jail time or deportation if the investigation proves fraud. He called her “a disgrace to our country” while speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Border czar Tom Homan stated that lying on naturalization papers is a serious crime that can lead to losing citizenship. He noted that federal authorities have done this before and will let the evidence lead the way.
Attorney General Todd Blanche pointed out that Omar is allowed to speak freely about the case. He contrasted this with the gag orders placed on President Trump during his own legal troubles.
Blanche told a podcast host that the Department of Justice is not trying to keep Omar quiet. He said they are simply following the law without the weaponization seen in previous administrations.
The investigation focuses on whether Omar or her father lied about her birth year on immigration forms. The dispute centers on whether she was a minor or an adult when her father became a citizen in 2000.
