‘I will not be silenced’: Prominent Democrat accuses Trump of ‘political intimidation’ after home raided

Democrat representative Ilhan Omar has accused US President Donald Trump of “political intimidation”, declaring she “will not be silenced” after federal agents raided her home.

Fellow Democrats quickly condemned the operation at the Washington, DC, home of the high-profile progressive and outspoken Trump critic on Monday.

The Justice Department said Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorised search warrant in connection with an ongoing federal criminal investigation but provided no other details.

Democrats questioned the timing given longstanding Justice Department protocol to avoid overt investigative steps involving political candidates in the direct run-up to an election.

The midterm elections are a little more than three weeks away and Republicans are expected to have a fight on their hands to keep control of the House amid a worsening cost of living crisis sparked in part by Trump’s war in Iran. 

Later on Monday morning, Omar posted to social media that she was “OK”.

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“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponise federal law enforcement,” she said.

“For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.

“I will not be silenced.”

Omar is a former Somali refugee whose status as an immigrant to the US and left-wing views – she’s a member of “The Squad”, a high-profile group of outspoken progressive women of colour – have repeatedly drawn criticism from Republicans and senior Trump officials.

That derision has only ramped up as her reelection bid draws closer.

Trump himself has repeatedly insulted the Somali American community as a whole and sought to cast its people as a threat to Minnesota. 

Civil ⁠rights advocates have criticised Trump’s rhetoric towards minorities and immigrants, including when he previously called Somalis “garbage”.

Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was an “ongoing investigation” related in part to whether Omar lied on her immigration forms.

“Something's going to happen,” he said.

A person familiar with the investigation told Reuters the investigation was related to alleged immigration fraud. They said part of the probe concerns Omar’s immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child. 

In a statement released on Monday, House Democrat leaders said Trump and far-right extremists had “relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations” for years.

"Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family,” they said.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, accused Trump of “abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election”.

“Americans see this for what it is,” he said.

Omar, who has represented Minnesota's fifth district since 2018, was one of the first two Muslim-American women in the House and the first African refugee to be elected to Congress.

Republicans have raised questions about Omar's past since before she was even elected, including asserting that she had married her brother and committed immigration fraud. 

She has broadly denied the allegations as “disgusting lies”.

The Justice Department ‌during Trump's ⁠second term in office has investigated and brought charges against a range of Trump's perceived political enemies, including FBI Director James Comey, New York state Attorney General Letitia James and Trump's former national security adviser turned critic John Bolton.

- Reported with Associated Press and Reuters