Ilhan Omar leaves home after raid as violence against politicians rises
The US congresswoman says she can no longer live at her Washington, DC residence, as attacks and threats against elected officials grow more frequent.
At a glance
- US congresswoman Ilhan Omar has left her Washington, DC home after federal agents raided it, citing safety and death threats.
- Omar says she cannot stay at a publicly known address while her children could be tracked by others.
- Australian MP Helen Haines lost both legs after being hit by a car outside her office in what police call a targeted attack.
United States Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been forced out of her Washington, DC residence because of safety concerns after federal agents raided her home, amid a wider rise in violence and threats against politicians.
Last week, US federal agents searched Omar's home using what a Justice Department spokesperson described as a “judicially authorised search warrant”, saying the raid was part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation”. NBC News, citing one person familiar with the matter, reported that charges against Omar may include conspiracy and making false statements in her immigration paperwork.
The Minnesota congresswoman, who was born in Somalia and is Muslim, has for years been the target of right-wing conspiracy theories about her immigration status, including allegations that she married her brother. She has repeatedly denied the claims as “disgusting lies”. Omar came to the US in 1995 at age 12, was naturalised as a citizen in 2000 and has served as a representative for Minnesota since January 2019.
“No longer going to be feasible”
Omar told the US outlet MS NOW on Wednesday that she could not remain in the apartment after the raid.
“Because our address has been public and with the death threats that I deal with, it's no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids visiting off and on, having people track them,” she said.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar, calling her a “sick person”, an “extremist” and “garbage”, and has threatened to deport her. Earlier this year, Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by an assailant while calling for the abolition of ICE at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis.
Attacks on lawmakers
On Monday, Australian independent MP Helen Haines, who has championed climate action, was hit by a car outside her electorate office, resulting in the amputation of both her legs. Australian police called it a “targeted attack” and warned of growing “online extremism”. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the driver, identified as Brendan Nugent, 43, reversed before ramming her again.
Sofia Collignon, a reader in comparative politics at Queen Mary University London, told Al Jazeera that physical violence against politicians remains “relatively rare in terms of numbers”, but that online abuse frequently precedes it and takes a particular toll on women of colour in politics.
Research points to a broader pattern. A 2023 Centre for Economic Policy Research study of 12 years of data on Italian politicians found marginally elected women were about three times more likely than comparable men to experience an attack. A 2026 Inter-Parliamentary Union report found 71 percent of 519 parliamentarians surveyed reported experiencing violence from the public, online, offline or both. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project recorded at least 13,900 incidents in 138 countries and territories over five years. Its chief executive, Clionadh Raleigh, said violence against public officials should “never be ignored or excused”.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why has Ilhan Omar moved out of her Washington home?
- Omar said her address was public and that she deals with death threats, making it unfeasible to stay after federal agents raided the apartment as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
- What happened to Australian MP Helen Haines?
- Haines, an independent MP who has championed climate action, was hit by a car outside her electorate office on Monday. Police called it a targeted attack and both her legs were amputated.
- What does research say about violence against politicians?
- A 2026 Inter-Parliamentary Union report found 71 percent of 519 parliamentarians surveyed reported experiencing violence from the public, online, offline or both.
