Omar Says Raid on Her Home Was Meant to Scare Voters Away From the Midterms

On Wednesday night, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sat down with Chris Hayes on MS NOW's "All In" and gave her first interview since federal agents searched her home in Washington, D.C. Her message was direct: she believes the raid was meant to frighten people away from voting in the midterm elections.

The search was carried out last Monday by Homeland Security Investigations, in connection with an inquiry into possible immigration fraud. Authorities are examining whether Omar or her father lied on paperwork that helped her obtain citizenship. Border czar Tom Homan has said that if the allegations are proven, Omar could be denaturalized. The raid was first reported by Fox News Digital.

Omar offered her own reading of why it happened. She said she thinks President Trump's allies were losing faith in promises that had gone unfulfilled, and that the raid gave them something to point to. In her telling, the message to supporters was that the administration was doing something. She grouped it with other actions: the Metro Surge operation, the review of voter rolls, and door knocks Hayes had mentioned. All of it, she said, was meant to show results and save face.

She tied this to a larger promise she said the administration had made, that large numbers of undocumented people were voting in American elections and that this needed fixing. The government, she argued, was now trying to stir up a frenzy around that claim. Ultimately, she said, the goal is to intimidate people and scare them from wanting to participate and vote.

Yet Omar argued the effect has been the opposite. On her drive to the interview, she said, her team was reporting massive lines at early voting sites. Staff who help people get to those sites told her they could not keep pace with the requests for rides. "I think it's doing the opposite," she said. That account comes from Omar and her staff; the interview did not offer independent figures on turnout.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. President Trump, however, spoke on the matter Tuesday from the Oval Office. Asked about the possible consequences for Omar, he said she could go to jail if the allegations are true. He added that people keep talking about deportation, but that jail was a possibility. He called the remarks his opinion, then described her as a very dishonest person who hates the country.

Omar had largely stayed out of public view since the raid. Before a campaign video released Tuesday night, she had not been seen publicly since before the search. Fox News Digital reported that her husband, Tim Mynett, has been seen outside the residence walking their dog, that a campaign aide was observed bringing in food, and that both of her daughters arrived at the home two days apart.

What to watch next is whether the investigation moves toward the denaturalization Homan described, and how that unfolds as the midterm elections approach. So far, the public record consists of the raid itself, the stated scope of the probe, and competing characterizations of its motive from Omar and Trump.