US Rep. Ilhan Omar accused the administration of US President Donald Trump of conducting an early-morning federal search at her Washington residence to suppress voter turnout ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
"I think, ultimately, their goal is to intimidate and, like, scare people from wanting to participate and vote," Omar told US news broadcaster MSNOW, adding that heavy turnout at early polling sites demonstrates that citizens will not be deterred.
The Democratic lawmaker argued that pressure from figures connected to the administration prompted the operation, suggesting authorities staged the raid to appease political allies demanding action against her.
Describing the 6 am operation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Omar said federal agents surrounded her residence and pounded on both entrances to "freak" her out.
She recalled waking after barely two hours of sleep to urgent banging that sounded like a building evacuation before examining the warrant to ensure investigators operated within legal limits. Omar said agents confiscated 17 items, including her husband's notebooks, a 1960s camera, and three mobile phones, most of which were outdated personal devices.
Pointing to safety risks after her home address became public, Omar said her family must relocate, explaining that persistent death threats make it "no longer going to be feasible to be in that house" while individuals may track her children's movements.
Trump on Tuesday suggested Omar could face imprisonment, not merely deportation, in connection with a federal immigration inquiry.
Omar, who entered the US House of Representatives in 2019 as the country's first Somali-American lawmaker, firmly denied wrongdoing, explaining that she arrived in the US at age 12 in 1995 and naturalized at 17.
