Omar Denies Marriage to Brother
Sandra Rhodes · Oct 22, 2026 · 1 min read
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has denied she married her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to commit immigration fraud.
She also denied claims they are related.
When asked if she was related to her ex-husband, Omar admitted, "Not to my knowledge."
This was the first time the Somali-born congresswoman's spoke with the media since federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence on Oct. 12.
"It all started with the Somali blog," Omar told MS Now host Chris Hayes regarding the rumor involving her ex-husband. "Somebody put it there, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect."
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant as part of a federal criminal investigation into possible false statements in Omar's immigration and naturalization documents.
The Justice Department has not publicly detailed the allegations.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and said the investigation is politically motivated.
She has gone one social media to ask supporters to keep sending her money.
Federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of Omar's family, and seized her cellphone during the investigation, according to The Associated Press.