Conservative commentators have questioned why a social media post in which U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar appeared to refer to her father as "Nur Said" is no longer on her timeline, amid a renewed federal investigation into the former's marriage and immigration history.
Court filings earlier this month show investigators identified the Minnesota Democrat as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar." Asked about the filing, Omar told reporters on Friday: "My name is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar."
The alternative name is similar to that of Omar's former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar has faced longstanding yet unproven allegations that Said Elmi was her brother and their marriage was concocted in a bid to secure him a green card.
Omar has repeatedly denied Said Elmi is her brother and that their marriage was fraudulent.
A June 2013 post from Omar's account on X, then still known as Twitter, read, Happy Father's Day to my aabo Nur Said, I am forever grateful to Allah for giving me the best father," according to an online archive. Aabo is the Somali word for father.
The post is no longer available at its original URL. Newsweek has not established when or why it was removed.
MAGA commentators Libs of TikTok and Benny Johnson have circulated the post and pointed to the name's similarity to that of Omar's former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
"If she has nothing to hide, why is she deleting everything? It’s about to get bad for Ilhan," wrote Johnson.
Libs of TikTok shared a screenshot of the deleted post on X, tagging Omar and asking, "why did you delete this?"
An official Congressional Black Caucus statement issued after Omar’s father died in 2020 identified him as Nur Omar Mohamed. The statement said Omar was raised by her father and grandfather after her mother died when she was 2 years old.
In a common Somali naming convention, a child's name may incorporate their father's and paternal grandfather's given names.
Newsweek contacted Omar’s office, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department for comment.
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Federal agents searched Omar's Washington home on October 12 following months of scrutiny, and investigators have obtained a sample of her DNA, a source close to the matter previously told Newsweek. Omar's sister, Sahra Noor, also voluntarily spoke with investigators following the search, according to the source.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said last month that federal authorities were examining an accusation that Omar married her brother to help him enter the United States.
A federal court filing identified the congresswoman as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," an identification seized upon by Donald Trump and other right-wing critics.
Omar, the first and only Somali-born lawmaker to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, has frequently clashed with President Trump, who has made a series of controversial remarks about the Minnesota Democrat.
Trump on Thursday called for Omar to resign, claiming the filing showed she had used a false name when she was sworn into Congress. The court filing's description of Omar, however, does not by itself establish Trump's claims that she used a fraudulent identity.
Omar has consistently rejected the allegation involving Elmi. During an interview with Chris Hayes on MS NOW, she said the claim originated with a Somali blog before being amplified by people she described as right-wing conspiracy theorists.
Asked by Hayes whether she was related to Elmi, Omar replied: "Not to my knowledge."
The Daily Beast reported in 2019 that the allegation could be traced to an August 2016 post on the Somali diaspora forum Somali Spot by an anonymous user called "AbdiJohnson," whose profile identified him as a Donald Trump supporter. The user claimed, without providing evidence, that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was Ilhan Omar’s brother and that she married him to help him enter the United States. The outlet reported that "AbdiJohnson" provided no evidence for the allegation and that previous posts on Somali Spot showed the user had a reputation for trolling and making claims intended to provoke other members.
The post was later deleted, but the allegation was subsequently amplified by far-right conspiracy theorists and hard-line MAGA commentators.
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Elmi, a British citizen, was married to Omar from 2009 until 2017. He is now listed as a doctoral researcher at the U.K. University of Bristol's School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, according to the university. His research focuses on violence against queer people in Kenya and the relationship between sexuality, politics, and structural marginalization.
The public interest in Omar's relationship with Elmi predates the current federal investigation by years. Her spokesperson has previously described the allegation that the two are related as a "desperate smear" and criticized media organizations for continuing to amplify it.
Omar married Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2018. The couple, who have three children together, divorced the following year. In March 2020, Omar married political consultant and businessman Tim Mynett.
Omar has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the current investigation and described it as politically motivated. In discussing the October 12 search, she said she believed the action was intended to appeal to supporters of President Donald Trump and intimidate voters.
Trump and figures in his administration have publicly raised allegations concerning Omar's immigration history. But despite the political claims surrounding the case, the federal investigation remains ongoing, and no court has found that Omar committed immigration fraud.
Republican Florida Representative Randy Fine has said he would seek Omar’s expulsion from Congress if the Justice Department finds she committed immigration fraud. Omar has not been found guilty of immigration fraud, and expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds vote.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Robert Greenall and Matthew Cannon