Rep. Ilhan Omar thanked donors and called for additional donations in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday night, eight days after federal agents conducted a search of her Washington home as part of a criminal investigation concerning her immigration documents.
The Minnesota Democrat, running for reelection in the November 3 midterms, used the roughly one-minute video to accuse Pres. Donald Trump of attempting to intimidate her and her supporters.
“Hi everyone. Ilhan here. I just wanted to say thank you so much for the support, to everyone who sent a note of support, for everyone who sent $5, $10, $20,” Omar said. “That goes a long way as we fight Trump and his administration for trying to intimidate me and so many people right before the midterm elections.”
“We know that they’re running scared,” she continued. “We’re not going to be intimidated, we’re not going to be silenced. We’re not going to be scared. I’ll be out there campaigning alongside all of you and making sure that we beat back all of this and that we win in the midterms, win the House, win the Senate and hold this administration accountable.”
She ended with another call for donations. “Thank you so much again, and please continue to support us,” Omar said. “It is going to be a very expensive and challenging time. And so we appreciate whether you’re able to send five, 10, 20. Thank you.”
The video is the latest in a series of money appeals. Hours after the search, her campaign messaged supporters, saying, “I will not bow to fascist bullies.” Earlier in October, she asked for donations to help her secure security for herself and her campaign.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, conducted the search at Omar’s home in the early hours of Oct. 12. A Justice Department spokesperson said a judge had signed off on the warrant and that it was part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
While the department has not publicly released any details of the case, sources familiar with it told media outlets that investigators were looking into possible fraud and false statements in immigration paperwork filed by Omar and her family. They also confiscated Omar’s personal cellphone, and some of her relatives received grand jury subpoenas a few days before the search, CBS News reported.
A federal judge in Washington, Matthew Sharbaugh, restricted how the Justice Department could access Omar’s records before signing off on the warrant, based on constitutional protections for members of Congress, CNN reported. Since then, Omar’s lawyers have said the department violated the judge’s restrictions, failed to notify her or the House general counsel’s office as required, and prevented her from reaching her attorney for more than an hour after the search began.
On the day of the raid, Omar posted on her social media that she was okay and called the operation “an attempt to target political enemies.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar strongly condemned the action as “egregious.” Former President Barack Obama issued a rare statement on Sunday criticizing the administration over the investigation.
Republican politicians have been questioning Omar’s immigration record for a long time. In March, Vice President JD Vance, without providing any evidence, claimed that Omar “definitely committed immigration fraud,” which she denied. Former President Trump has been demanding that she be either imprisoned or deported to Somalia.
Omar is also facing scrutiny for her finances. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, last week announced that her office was investigating possible irregularities in Omar’s financial disclosures, even though the search warrant mentioned possible immigration violations, not financial ones. The House Oversight Committee, headed by Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, is investigating the finances of Omar and her husband, while The New York Times reported that a federal investigation of her finances began in 2024 under President Biden. Omar has been calling the allegations misleading.
Omar came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia in 1995 at the age of 12 and was later naturalized as a citizen. She has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since 2019 and is the first Somali-American member of the federal government. Omar is not charged with any crime.
Immigration fraud carries a prison term and, for a naturalized citizen, also a possible revocation of citizenship. Her district, including Minneapolis, is reliably Democratic.
