WASHINGTON: US authorities conducted a predawn raid Monday at the Washington-area home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar as part of an ongoing federal investigation, the Justice Department said.
Homeland Security Investigations executed a court-authorized search warrant obtained by the Justice Department, a department spokesperson said in an email. Officials did not provide further details about the investigation.
Fox News Digital, citing unidentified sources, reported that the raid followed a criminal fraud investigation into immigration paperwork completed by Omar’s late father when she was a child. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
A representative for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The raid came just over three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, in which Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, are seeking to defend their narrow majorities in Congress.
Omar, a Somali-born lawmaker and outspoken critic of Trump, has frequently been targeted by the president’s political attacks. Trump has made remarks about Somali Americans and Muslim communities that civil rights advocates have criticized as anti-immigrant and discriminatory.
Omar has described Trump’s focus on her as an “unhealthy and creepy obsession.” She has also said that she and her family have faced death threats, which she attributes to what she calls hateful political rhetoric.
Last week, Trump called Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, a “RADICAL Extremist” and “Terrorist Sympathizer” while endorsing Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
In February, Trump said Omar and Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan should be “institutionalized” and sent back to where they came from. Both lawmakers had criticized Trump during his State of the Union address over his administration’s immigration policies.
Last month, a Minnesota man was sentenced to one year and two months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official for squirting vinegar on Omar.
Anthony James Kazmierczak admitted attacking the congresswoman because he disagreed with her progressive political views.
