Ilhan Omar faces name questions after court filing lists alternate identity

Fox News posted a YouTube short under the title “Ilhan Omar reveals her ‘real name’ amid conflicting reports #shorts.” The channel’s description states that Rep. Ilhan Omar is confronted with questions about her real name after a federal court filing identifies her by a different name matching that of her ex-husband.

The short carries the Fox News Digital exchange Hannah Brennan reported after the outlet spotted Omar at Karmel Masjid inside Minnesota’s Karmel Mall. “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it. It’s Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” Omar told Fox News Digital when asked about her name. A Wednesday motion filed in D.C. federal court by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office had listed her as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”

That language appeared in a request to keep sealed the search warrant for Omar’s Washington home. Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the residence on October 12 and seized her phone, computer and passport. Judicial Watch, The New York Times and 14 other press organizations had filed applications on October 15 seeking the warrant records. Prosecutors said they would submit a status report within 30 days of finishing the search.

Two people familiar with the investigation, including a law enforcement source, told Fox News Digital that Omar’s real name is Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, the same surname carried by her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. The couple married in 2009 and divorced in 2017. One source disputed Omar’s account outright, telling the outlet, “That’s not her real name.” Critics have long alleged without proof that the ex-husband is her brother; Omar has repeatedly denied it. Asked this week on MS NOW whether she was related to him, she answered, “Not to my knowledge.” President Donald Trump seized on the reply. “That tells you a lot right there,” he said.

Omar’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital the Elmi reports were “completely false” and labeled the brother claim a “disgusting conspiracy theory.” The same office told Al Jazeera, in a statement reported by Catherine Nouhan, “The Congresswoman’s name has always been Ilhan Omar. Any indication otherwise is flat out false.” Omar herself posted on X: “Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar.” In the MS NOW interview she added, “I have a legal right to be a member of Congress, and I am honoured.”