A new report adds weight to allegations that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota married her own brother.
The report in the U.K. Daily Mail quoted a man named Abdihakim Osman as saying that Omar had been desperate to find a way to keep her brother Ahmed Elmi in the country.
“No one knew there had been a wedding until the media turned up the marriage certificate years later,” Osman, 40, who keeps tabs on the Somali community around Minneapolis through a Facebook blog, said. Omar has called criticism of her marriage “Islamophobia.”
Omar married Ahmed Hirsi in 2002 in a Muslim ceremony which was not registered by the state as a legal marriage. Marriage documents show Elmi and Omar married in 2009.
Osman said that not long after Omar married Hirsi, the man he was told was Omar’s brother entered the picture.
Trump administration blocks Venezuela from paying Maduro’s legal bills amid federal charges
Murder suspect in Baltimore robbery spree was on probation, records show
Authorities preparing to return home of Nancy Guthrie back to family: report
Some of the most notable guests at Trump’s 2026 State of the Union: photos
Senators Sanders and Mullin clash in heated Senate hearing exchange: ‘You’re part of the problem’
Trump’s fraud czar nominee touts Minnesota blueprint to root out Obamacare fraud, senior scams
Trump’s ‘war on fraud’ draws range of reactions during SOTU speech
Former top Harris adviser ignites backlash over ‘political props’ comment targeting USA men’s hockey team
The Laundering of Iran’s Atrocities: How Western Voices Became a Shield for the Islamic Republic’s Mass Killings
Capitol Tea: Jim Justice, of Babydog fame, offers to take over Tillis dog parade
Karoline Leavitt Drops List of Policies Dems Wouldn’t Stand For, Including Voter ID and Fewer Murders
GOP to campaign on Democrats picking illegal immigrants over Americans at State of the Union
Thune floats White House lifeline for unpaid DHS workers as shutdown drags on
Brandon Herrera calls for GOP leadership to pressure Tony Gonzales to exit Texas race after House of Cards-level scandal
Former CNN Host Don Lemon is Being Sued for Emotional Distress Following Minnesota Church Stunt: ‘Appeared to Take Satisfaction in the Disruption’
“People began noticing that Ilhan and Southside were often with a very effeminate young guy,” Osman said. “Southside” was a nickname Osman used for Hirsi. “He was very feminine in the way he dressed — he would wear light lipstick and pink clothes and very, very, short shorts in the summer. People started whispering about him.”
He said there was no secrecy then about the young man’s identity.
“[Hirsi] and Ilhan both told me it was Ilhan’s brother and he had been living in London but he was mixing with what were seen as bad influences that the family did not like,” Osman said.
“So they sent him to Minneapolis as ‘rehab.’”
Osman said the wedding to Elmi was deliberately kept quiet, unlike her first marriage.
“When [Hirsi] and Ilhan got married, a lot of people were invited. It was a big Islamic wedding uniting two large clans in the Minneapolis community. I would say there were 100-150 people there,” he said.
But, “When she married Elmi, no one even knew about it,” he said, adding that he suspected someone outside the Somali community was needed for the marriage because community members would know they were siblings.
Trump administration blocks Venezuela from paying Maduro’s legal bills amid federal charges
Murder suspect in Baltimore robbery spree was on probation, records show
Authorities preparing to return home of Nancy Guthrie back to family: report
Some of the most notable guests at Trump’s 2026 State of the Union: photos
Senators Sanders and Mullin clash in heated Senate hearing exchange: ‘You’re part of the problem’
Trump’s fraud czar nominee touts Minnesota blueprint to root out Obamacare fraud, senior scams
Trump’s ‘war on fraud’ draws range of reactions during SOTU speech
Former top Harris adviser ignites backlash over ‘political props’ comment targeting USA men’s hockey team
The Laundering of Iran’s Atrocities: How Western Voices Became a Shield for the Islamic Republic’s Mass Killings
Capitol Tea: Jim Justice, of Babydog fame, offers to take over Tillis dog parade
Karoline Leavitt Drops List of Policies Dems Wouldn’t Stand For, Including Voter ID and Fewer Murders
GOP to campaign on Democrats picking illegal immigrants over Americans at State of the Union
Thune floats White House lifeline for unpaid DHS workers as shutdown drags on
Brandon Herrera calls for GOP leadership to pressure Tony Gonzales to exit Texas race after House of Cards-level scandal
Former CNN Host Don Lemon is Being Sued for Emotional Distress Following Minnesota Church Stunt: ‘Appeared to Take Satisfaction in the Disruption’
Omar was clear on one thing: She wanted to keep her brother in the U.S.
“She said she needed to get papers for her brother to go to school. We all thought she was just getting papers together to allow him to stay in this country,” Osman said.
“Once she had the papers they could apply for student loans.”
“They both moved to North Dakota to go to school but she was still married to [Hirsi]. In the Somali way, the only marriage that mattered was the one in the mosque,” he said. “Ilhan came back to Minneapolis all the time to see her family, but her brother didn’t come with her.”
Omar and Elmi divorced in 2017. Omar married Hirsi in a civil ceremony in 2018.
“They never parted,” Osman said of Omar and Hirsi.
They have since, however. Hirsi and Omar divorced in November. Omar has been accused of having an affair with a consultant to her campaign.
Story cited here.
