Former Minnesota state trooper John Nagel is blaming Rep. Ilhan Omar and the Democratic Party as violence tied to Somali American gangs rattles residents across the Twin Cities. Nagel is challenging Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Residents in Eden Prairie and surrounding suburbs have faced a string of gang-related incidents this month. Two teenagers were shot outside an Eden Prairie high school football game, while authorities recovered more than 100 shell casings in a Bloomington neighborhood.

"Where is Ilhan Omar in all of this?" Nagel asked during an interview with Fox News Digital. He questioned why Omar had not appeared at meetings, issued a statement, or publicly discussed ways to stop the violence.

"I would think that as a congressman that represents this particular area that she'd be at these meetings or she'd have a statement or she’d be sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, how can we help this? How could we stop this?’ And I don't see her," Nagel said.

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Nagel, a Minnesota native who spent 30 years as a state trooper, also criticized other Minnesota Democrats. He accused Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and other officials of having their "heads in the sand" while law enforcement is prevented from containing the violence.

"They're being restrained by politicians, people that are trying soft on crime, people that're trying to send somebody other than a police officer to take care of issues, and it's not working," Nagel said.

Nagel also targeted the responses from statewide Democratic leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison. He said most Democrats "don’t want enforcement," even though residents do.

"The people do," Nagel said. "They're tired of it."

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According to Nagel, years of lenient Democratic crime policies have "emboldened" gang members and other criminals. He argued that offenders believe they can break the law without facing serious consequences.

"Because of how the Democrats have run Minnesota over the years, these gang members and then just crooks in general, they’re emboldened by this," Nagel said.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher raised similar accountability concerns during a press conference this week. Fletcher said a "big chunk of the problem" is the failure to hold gang members accountable and called on Moriarty’s office to be more "aggressive" when prosecuting juveniles.

Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for Moriarty’s office, told Fox News Digital that no cases connected to the Bloomington incident had been submitted for charging consideration. He said "they’ll be thoroughly reviewed" if they are submitted.

Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was charged Friday in connection with the shooting at the Eden Prairie homecoming football game. He faces two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree riot.

"Mr. Adam will be held accountable," Moriarty said in a Friday press release. "Violence in our communities is completely unacceptable, and it requires a professional, coordinated response, which happened here."

Fletcher also objected to using "East African" as a broader description of the gang members’ ethnicity. He said "98% of these gang members are Somali" and argued that applying the broader label was not "fair."

"I think we just have to say what it is and not run away from the term," Fletcher said.

Nagel said people fear being labeled "racist" for describing the gangs as Somali. He argued that law enforcement is pursuing people who commit crimes, not blaming an entire community, and called the violence a "Somali problem" because that is "who's showing up."

"I mean, we have Latino gangs and Asian gangs and Black gangs, and we have Somali gangs. This is not being prejudicial."

Nagel suggested that a "gang task force" could be part of the response. He said Minnesota does not need additional laws or more requests for money, but instead needs officials to use existing laws and prosecute offenders.

"We need enforcement, we need arrests, and we need incarceration," Nagel said. "Otherwise, this is going to continue to spiral."

Nagel will face Omar and independent candidate DeVelle Jackson in the upcoming midterm elections for the House seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. Fox News Digital contacted the offices of Omar, Walz, and Ellison for comment.

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