Federal Agents Search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington Home in Criminal Investigation
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home on Oct. 12, 2026. Omar called it political intimidation.
Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, as part of a criminal investigation, three weeks before the midterm elections in which she is running for reelection.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant in the Washington area. The search was “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” the department said. Its statement did not name Omar or describe the investigation, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
What the investigation is about
The department has not announced any charges, and the scope of the investigation is unclear. Sources told CBS News that it centers on immigration paperwork from Omar’s childhood, filled out by her late father. A person familiar with the probe told NBC News that it deals partly with immigration and fraud but goes beyond those issues.
Trump administration officials said in September 2026 that Omar was under investigation. Omar said at the time that she had not been contacted about any investigation, CBS News reported.
Omar: “I will not be silenced”
Omar called the search “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement” in a post on X. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she wrote. “I will not be silenced.”
House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar called the search “deeply disturbing” in a joint statement.
The timing
The Justice Department has long tried to avoid overt investigative steps involving candidates close to an election. There is no written rule barring such steps within 60 days of a vote, but department policy says prosecutors and agents may not time investigative actions to influence an election, NBC News reported.
Omar, who came to the United States from Somalia as a child, was first elected to the House in 2018. She represents Minnesota’s 5th District, which includes Minneapolis.
