Sahra Noor's phone was seized earlier this year. Investigators found a text message on it — and whatever it said was enough for a federal judge to authorize a search warrant on the Washington, D.C. home of her sister, Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Omar isn't proclaiming her innocence. She's demanding her stuff back.
Homeland Security Investigations agents executed that warrant on Monday, October 12, searching Omar's residence and walking out with her personal cellphone, notebooks, personal computers, her passport, and several boxes of additional items. Separately, agents were spotted sifting through Omar's trash looking for DNA evidence. The raid is part of an open criminal investigation before a federal grand jury in Minnesota, examining whether Omar or her father committed fraud on immigration paperwork when the family came to the United States as refugees from Somalia in the 1990s.
A dozen people, including family members, have been subpoenaed. Noor, a healthcare executive and author currently living in Kenya, skipped a scheduled event in Rochester to promote her book "Salt in the Snow: A Somali Immigrant Story," citing a "family emergency."
On Friday, Omar's attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz of Hecker Fink LLP fired off a letter to the Department of Justice demanding the immediate return of everything seized. They called the investigation "vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated" and wrote that there is "no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status." They also claimed agents ignored restrictions the judge placed on the search warrant.
DOJ spokesperson Emily Covington wasn't buying it. "Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do," she said, adding that the defense team's letter was "riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies."
Omar's own statement was notably lighter on legal argument: "Thank you to everyone who stood with me over the years. It's been a scary journey but I have always been grounded in my work." Her office called the raid "an outrageous abuse of power" by "Trump's DHS." Her campaign started fundraising off of it immediately — "Stand with Ilhan Omar" — which is one way to respond to a federal search warrant.
Then there's the financial side, which the Fox News breakdown laid out this week. Omar's 2025 financial disclosures showed assets valued at $6 million to $30 million. Her previous filing in 2023 showed $15,000 to $51,000. Her husband Tim Mynett's company eStCru LLC jumped from $15,000–$50,000 to $1–5 million. Another entity, Rose Lake Capital LLC, went from $1–$1,000 to $5–25 million. After a complaint was filed in February 2026, Omar amended the filing and reduced her reported assets to $18,004 to $95,000, blaming an "accounting error."
An accounting error that turned $51,000 into $30 million. Sure.
The DOJ has a longstanding policy discouraging investigative steps within roughly 60 days before elections. Omar is on the ballot in the midterms. Her attorneys made sure to mention that. What they didn't mention is that this investigation began under President Joe Biden — not exactly a political ally of Donald Trump.
President Trump, for his part, told reporters: "I've always found her to be totally crooked... that has nothing to do with me." Vice President JD Vance struck a different note in an exclusive interview, saying the administration doesn't "want to be like the Biden administration" where law targets "political opponents."
The Office of Congressional Conduct voted 5-1 in September to dismiss the financial complaint. The federal grand jury in Minnesota did not.
A text message on her own sister's phone. A judge who found probable cause. A passport in an evidence bag. And the only thing Omar can think to say is "give it back."
