People inside Minnesota’s Somali community are scared to say a bad word about Rep. Ilhan Omar. Not because they like her policies, but because they say doing so can get you beaten, threatened, or worse.
The New York Post talked to multiple sources who described a pattern of online threats, physical assaults, and coordinated pressure campaigns targeting anyone who speaks critically about the congresswoman. To be clear, none of the people making these threats are officially connected to Omar, and there is no evidence she directed or even knew about any of it. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
One man told the Post he was attacked by a mob of 15 people outside a Kenyan restaurant in 2022. He said he was pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and kicked and punched until he blacked out, leaving him with a concussion and multiple cuts and bruises. He believes the attack was triggered by a popular Somali TikTok personality who called him a “fool” and told followers he’d “punch him in the face” if the critic ever came to Minnesota. The TikToker had also posted the man’s location online. If you want the full picture of what these sources described, Ilhan Omar community threats goes deep into the details.
Another source said he received a seven-minute phone call from a “leading member” of the Somali community in Minneapolis. The caller told him to publicly say he had lied about Omar and to post a statement of support for her before an upcoming election. He refused, but said the pressure was intense because he didn’t want to be “villainized in the community” any further.
I feel very threatened for simply disagreeing with anything to do with Ilhan Omar,” the source told the Post. “I get death wishes every day, and I am afraid to leave my home.” A separate individual based in Somalia, known as Aardile, reportedly posted a video online claiming he had put a hit out on a community member quoted speaking negatively about Omar, saying “we are sending people after you, they’re going to put you in hospital and in a coma.” Another person told the same source flat out, “you are going to be killed,” and called him a “snake.”
Omar has denied any wrongdoing and has vehemently denied that her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who has been alleged to also be her brother, was a fraudulent immigration arrangement. They split around 2012 but did not officially divorce until 2017. Local Minnesota journalists, according to sources, have faced accusations of racism since 2016 any time they attempted to report on her background or personal life.
That only means one thing, right? If Ilhan Omar’s marriage was legit, then no one would be mad. But here we are.
Nobody has charged Omar with any crime, and the record shows that plainly. But the atmosphere her supporters have created around her, whether she wants it or not, looks a whole lot like a machine built to make sure critics either recant or suffer. The Post says it will continue reporting on the story, and you can bet the people making threats are not going to enjoy that one bit.
Just think, it’s only a matter of time until something big might happen – and if it doesn’t, then a lot of people will be very angry.
