US agents search Ilhan Omar’s home amid criminal investigation

On Monday morning, US authorities conducted a pre-dawn raid on the home of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar in the Washington area, according to the Justice Department. The investigation is part of an ongoing probe into allegations of criminal fraud related to Omar's immigration paperwork, which was completed by her late father when she was a child, reported Fox News Digital.

According to a DOJ spokesperson, "Today in the Washington, DC area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation." A representative for Omar has not yet commented on the matter. The raid occurred less than three weeks before the November midterm elections, when Republicans led by President Donald Trump will be attempting to maintain their thin majorities in the US Congress.

Omar has been a recurring target of Trump's insults, who has portrayed the Somali American community as a threat to Minnesota, amplifying anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric. "Creepy obsession," Omar has described Trump's focus on her as an "unhealthy and creepy obsession." Trump recently referred to Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate for US Senate, as a "RADICAL Extremist" and "Terrorist Sympathiser," while endorsing his Republican opponent.

Civil rights groups have criticized Trump's rhetoric towards minorities and immigrants, including his previous calls for Somalis to be "institutionalized" and sent back to "where they came from." In February, Trump suggested that Omar and Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, also a Muslim, should be "institutionalized" and sent back to their countries of origin.

Both women had criticized Trump during his State of the Union address as he promoted his administration's hard-line immigration stance and enforcement actions. Omar has repeatedly claimed that she and her family have faced death threats, attributing them to "hateful political rhetoric," especially from Trump. Last month, a Minnesota man was sentenced to one year and two months in prison for squirting vinegar at Omar, admitting that he acted out of disagreement with her progressive political views.