Omar’s deleted tweet could give clue on alleged brother marriage

Federal Investigation Focuses on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Immigration Records After a Deleted Social‑Media Post Resurfaces

A 2013 X (formerly Twitter) post by U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar that she deleted in 2019 has come back into the spotlight as federal investigators probe whether she may have used a false name on immigration and naturalization paperwork. The post, which praised Omar’s father by a different name than the one used in other official records, was discovered during a search of the congresswoman’s Washington, D.C., home on October 12, 2026.

Omar’s 2013 message read, “Happy Father’s Day to my aabo Nur Said, I am forever grateful to Allah for giving me the best father ….” The post was removed the day after it was published and was only rediscovered in an archived copy that had been shared online in 2019. The tweet’s wording is consistent with the way Omar previously addressed her father on social media, but the name “Nur Said” differs from the name that appears on other documents.

Other records identify Omar’s father as Nur Omar Mohamed. A memorial post from the Congressional Black Caucus marking the father’s death in 2020 used that name. Some media accounts have noted that “Nur Said” is also the name used by Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar has repeatedly denied that the former husband is her brother; in a March interview on MS NOW she said, “Not to my knowledge,” when asked if the man was a distant relative.

The federal probe was launched after investigators obtained a search warrant for Omar’s residence on the grounds that she may have made false statements on her immigration and naturalization documents. The warrant, released to the public in the summer of 2026, lists the congresswoman’s full name as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi” and notes that she is also known as “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” The document does not explain why the name appears or prove that Omar used a false identity; it merely indicates that the name was used on some filings.

During a raid on October 12, federal agents seized Omar’s phone and other electronic devices from her Washington, D.C. apartment. A statement from her spokesperson, issued Thursday, said the congresswoman had “repeatedly and unequivocally denied” the “baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory” that she had married her brother. The spokesperson also referenced an earlier claim that “Nur Said” was Omar’s father’s childhood nickname and that he had maintained a public page under that name. It was also said that the tweet was deleted because Omar and her family had received threats.

Omar has called the investigation a “political attack.” In a brief response to Fox News Digital, she reiterated that her “real name” is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, stating, “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it… It’s Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” She also said her marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi ended in divorce in 2017, and that she remarried Ahmed Hirsi in 2018.

The legal ramifications of the investigation hinge on whether Omar knowingly used a false name on any federal documents. A former Minnesota federal immigration judge told Fox News Digital that if investigators can prove she did so, the conduct could be charged under the federal false‑statements statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Whether that statute would apply depends on the specific documents in question, the materiality of any alleged misstatement, and evidence of intent.

The Justice Department has not yet responded to requests for comment. Omar’s office has declined to comment on the matter beyond the statements already released.

The investigation remains ongoing, and no charges have been filed. However, the resurfacing of the deleted 2013 post has added a new dimension to the scrutiny of Omar’s immigration and naturalization history. As the probe continues, officials are examining whether any inconsistencies in the names used in official filings constitute a violation of federal law, or whether they simply reflect the complex naming conventions common in Somali culture, where a person’s name may include a given name, their father’s given name, and their paternal grandfather’s given name.