Fear of threats and violence is keeping much of Minnesota’s tight knit Somali community silent about Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to people who spoke with The Post. Those who do speak say they can face online intimidation, physical attacks, and death threats.

The fiercely protective group described in the report is not officially connected to Omar, and its members do not receive instructions from her. The report also says it is unclear whether the Minnesota representative is personally aware of their conduct.

One community member who broke ranks was assaulted on the streets of Minneapolis, and later in Kenya after the person’s name appeared in the press, The Post reported. An attack outside a restaurant in 2022 allegedly left the critic with a concussion, cuts, and bruises.

“I got jumped by 15 people and was pepper-sprayed,” the man, who requested anonymity because he feared further retaliation, told The Post. He said he remembered being thrown to the ground as punches and kicks rained down.

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The man believes the violence was sparked by a popular Somali TikTok star who called him a “fool” and threatened to punch him if he came to Minnesota. “I was attacked because of this man. He set his followers on me after sharing my location,” he claimed.

In separate videos, the TikTok personality took aim at people who had discussed Omar. “There are people in our community who have snitched on Ilhan Omar, as well as gone after her father.”

Minnesota journalists have encountered resistance while reporting on Omar since she was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, sources told The Post. Questions about her background, policies, or personal life were quickly met with accusations of racism from members of the protective community.

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Omar arrived in Minnesota as a refugee in 1995 after escaping Somalia’s civil war. She has faced allegations that her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who has also been alleged to be her brother, was arranged for immigration purposes.

Omar and Elmi separated around 2012 but did not divorce until 2017. The congresswoman has vehemently denied that the marriage was a sham intended to secure legal immigration status for Elmi.

Another source within the community said he received a chilling phone call demanding that he recant anything he had said about Omar. He was also told to issue statements supporting her ahead of the midterm elections.

“I feel very threatened for simply disagreeing with anything to do with Ilhan Omar,” the source claimed. He said he received death wishes daily, feared leaving his home, and faced verbal abuse or physical assault when he went outside.

Only a handful of Somali community members have publicly shared what they say they know about Omar’s relationship with Elmi. A man based in Somalia and known as Aardile claimed to have ordered an attack on a Minnesota man quoted criticizing Omar.

“We are sending people after you, they’re going to put you in hospital and in a coma,” Aardile stated in an online video. The source told The Post that he stayed in bed for an entire week because he feared being shot.

Another person allegedly told the source, “you are going to be killed,” and called him a “snake.” The Post also heard a seven minute phone call from a person described as a “leading member” of the city’s Somali community to someone who had spoken against Omar.

During that call, the source was explicitly ordered to say, “I lied about Omar because we were arguing,” and publish a message supporting her before the elections. He refused but said he feared being further “villainized in the community.”

None of the people issuing social media threats are linked to Omar, and the congresswoman is not accused of wrongdoing in connection with their conduct. Omar’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

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