Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., home on Monday morning, Oct. 12, under a judicially authorized warrant, the Justice Department said. The department called the search “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” It gave no other details.
Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted the search, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press anonymously because they weren’t authorized to discuss an active probe. Photographs showed agents carrying boxes from the residence, talking with neighbors on 26th Street NE and standing beside unmarked vehicles.
The Warrant and the Process
The Justice Department emphasized that a judge authorized the warrant. That matters. A search of a sitting member of Congress’s home requires a judge’s approval, and the department obtained the warrant in the Washington area. The public record remains thin. People familiar with the matter told the AP that details of the investigation weren’t immediately clear, while an email seeking comment from Omar’s representative went unanswered on Monday.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed on Fox Business Monday morning that agents had executed a search warrant at the home.
Rep. Tom Emmer, the state’s highest-profile elected Republican, stated the principle plainly on X: “Nobody is above the law. HSI just executed a search warrant at Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. home. We look forward to learning more details about this raid and investigation. ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING!”
The Background
This didn’t come out of nowhere. In January, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the Justice Department was investigating Omar. He wrote that Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia, “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.” “Time will tell all,” he wrote.
Omar, 44, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, which includes Minneapolis. She first won election to the House in 2018. She’s a member of The Squad, a group of female lawmakers known for progressive views and pointed opposition to the Republican president. The Washington Post reported that the search intensified long-standing immigration-related accusations from Republicans against Omar, the nation’s first Somali American lawmaker.
Omar’s Response
Omar said she would “not be silenced” and described the search as part of Trump’s “intimidation” campaign. PBS characterized her accusation as political intimidation by the Trump administration. She hasn’t been charged with anything, and the Justice Department hasn’t said what conduct the investigation covers. The search came weeks before the midterm elections.
A Broader Pattern of Scrutiny
The action came amid other legal scrutiny of the president’s critics and opponents, with mixed outcomes so far. Federal agents raided former national security adviser John Bolton’s home in August 2025. Bolton, now a foreign policy critic, pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents in June, about four months ago. That case ended with an admission of guilt, not an acquittal.
Other matters remain unresolved. Trump has sought to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the financial board over accusations of mortgage fraud. Last week, he established a committee of inquiry to investigate Cook, writing that it was his job to fire “subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law.”
The president has also pressed publicly on other fronts. Last September, he urged then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to move faster on criminal charges against California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, writing on Truth Social, “they’re all guilty as hell.” He has also floated investigating 2024 election foe Chris Christie over the “Bridgegate” incident that took place while Christie was governor of New Jersey.
Alanna Durkin Richer wrote the Associated Press report, with contributions from AP writers Kathy McCormack and Mike Catalini.
Why This Matters:
The case tests a principle conservatives and liberals both claim to hold: no one, including a sitting member of Congress, sits above the law. The judicial warrant is the key safeguard here. What comes next will show whether evidence supports the investigation. Prosecutors must bring charges, or the matter fades. The timing, weeks before the midterms, guarantees loud politics, and the Justice Department hasn’t explained its case.
Institutional credibility depends on the process holding up in court, not in press releases or social media posts. Until the department says what it’s investigating, voters have dueling narratives and no facts to weigh. Transparency, once the law allows it, serves everyone involved.