Questions about Ilhan Omar’s whereabouts have surfaced online after federal agents searched the US congresswoman’s Washington home on October 12. Omar has since posted on X, saying she is okay and will not be silenced.
Where is Ilhan Omar?
An X user, Jay Martin, wrote: “Grok where is Ilhan Omar now? We have not seen her in public.” Grok, the AI chatbot on X, replied that there have been no confirmed public appearances by Omar since before the October 12 federal search of her DC home.
“No confirmed public appearances by Rep. Ilhan Omar since before the Oct 12 federal search of her DC home. She posted on X Oct 12 and 16 confirming she is okay and will not be silenced. A message from her was read at a Minneapolis support rally saying she would return soon to campaign. Her team continues door-knocking and events,” Grok wrote.
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Omar’s last posts
Omar’s last post, on October 16, read: “Thank you to everyone who stood with me over the years. It’s been a scary journey but I have always been grounded in my work and ability to provide exemplary service to my constituents. Trump and his administration have been after me since I arrived in Congress. I have always stood up to him and that will never change. The pedophile protector will never silence me.”
Her post on October 12, after the search, read: “I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”
“I will not be silenced,” she added.
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Why did federal agents search Ilhan Omar’s home?
According to The Guardian, the justice department started the investigation after years of Trump and conservative media figures spreading unproven rumors. The rumors say Omar’s ex-husband is actually her brother, and that she married him so he could get immigration status. Omar, the most prominent Somali American in the US, has denied this.
Citing sources “close to the investigation,” Fox News reported that the search was linked to a criminal fraud investigation about Omar’s immigration paperwork. The paperwork was filled out by Omar’s father when she was a child.
Omar’s lawyers say there is “no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The investigation began just weeks before the 3 November midterms, in which Omar is on the ballot. Democrats accused Donald Trump of abusing his power to target a political opponent.
After the search, Trump denied being involved in the investigation, according to The Guardian. “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me,” Trump said.
Lawyers want her property back
Omar’s attorneys have asked the US Department of Justice to return property that federal agents took from her home during the search. As per a letter reported by the Associated Press on Friday, her lawyers said the seizure was “neither justified nor lawful.”
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter, said the attorneys also wrote: “This vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the president’s chief congressional critics violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers.”
The lawyers also asked the department to keep any audio and video taken during the search.
Obama and Homan weigh in
Former US president Barack Obama has criticized remarks by Tom Homan.
As per The Guardian, Homan was asked on Saturday by a Fox News host whether the investigation could involve “denaturalizing and then deporting her.” He answered: “Of course.”
Obama wrote on X on Sunday that “the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.”
He urged all Americans to defend Omar, adding: “if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her – or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.”