Report: Marriage License Application Reveals Ilhan Omar Appeared Confused About Her Name

MINNEAPOLIS — A 2009 Hennepin County marriage license application shows Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) initially listing her surname as Omar, then crossing it out in favor of Elmi, then restoring Omar, the New York Post reported Friday. The form was filed in connection with her marriage to Ahmed Elmi, the man she has repeatedly insisted is not her brother.

The document will no doubt come into play in a Department of Justice investigation into whether the outspoken Somali-born Minnesota congresswoman committed fraud gaining her U.S. citizenship in 2000 by allegedly failing to use her accurate legal name and birthdate. The DOJ’s recent court filing refers to her as “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”

A source familiar with the investigation had told the news outlet that Omar is a fictitious name and that she was born with the last name of Elmi, the same as her alleged brother she purportedly married. The application, dated February 12, 2009, also required the couple to indicate whether they were related by blood or adoption; they checked the “no” box. The Post noted that “It’s unclear who filled out the application, but it appears to have been written with just one person’s handwriting.” Unlike the Justice Department’s formulation, the crossed-out revision on the form read “Ilhan Omar Elmi.”

Elmi has described himself as gay. Omar’s office did not respond to the Post for comment on the marriage license application.

Omar has denied the allegations of fraud and called the investigation and questions about her marriage a racist conspiracy theory and a politically motivated smear by Republicans and President Donald Trump. When MS NOW anchor Chris Hayes recently asked her if she was related to Elmi, she answered, “Not to my knowledge,” an odd, and yes, idiotic response that also made headlines.

According to the Post, “An image of the marriage application has circulated online for years and appears to have been first published in August 2016 by the Minnesota outlet Alpha News. It has until now largely gone untouched by major news outlets.”

Scott W. Johnson, a retired Minneapolis attorney who has been investigating the “curious case” of Omar and allegations of fraud for nearly a decade, told the Post “the whole thing is a red flag.”

In a related development, local election officials confirmed that Minnesota’s automatic voter registration system continues to accept whichever name an applicant prefers on any given form, provided the applicant later denounces any resulting questions as racist.

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Ilhan Omar, confronted with the rumor that she once married her own brother, offered the reassuring reply "Not to my knowledge."

The Minnesota Democrat told MS NOW's Chris Hayes that the recent federal raid on her Washington home was simply an attempt to excite Republican voters and frighten her supporters. 

She rejected the claim that her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was arranged to game the immigration system, and she denied that the two of them are related. Asked directly whether any family connection existed, she said, "Not to my knowledge."

This was her first media appearance since Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the residence on October 12 under a warrant signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh. Her office has ignored repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital. The Justice Department has released no public description of the allegations, which center on possible false statements in her immigration and naturalization paperwork.

"It all started with the Somali blog," Omar told Hayes. "Somebody put it there, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect."

She has labeled the entire probe political. After the search she released a video filmed from the back seat of a car in which she urged donors to keep the contributions coming. Federal authorities have served more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of her family, and seized her cellphone, according to the Associated Press. Fox News Digital reported that her sister, Sahra Noor, spoke with investigators last week.

A separate inquiry, opened in 2024 under the Biden administration, is examining her campaign finances and personal financial disclosures. A complaint about the gap between her reported income and assets was dismissed by House ethics officials but is now under review by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro. 

Both investigations continue.

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Violence Against Institutions Is Still Violence

There is a revealing tendency in modern politics to excuse intimidation when it is directed at the "right" targets. The latest incident outside New York City's ICE office is another reminder that political extremism rarely begins with grand acts of terror. It begins with the steady normalization of threats, harassment, and the belief that ideological opponents deserve fear rather than debate.

On Monday morning, a man believed by law enforcement sources to be an anti ICE activist allegedly deployed an incendiary device outside 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan while armed with two airsoft rifles, triggering a federal terrorism investigation.

At least two people were injured after the suspect allegedly "menaced" bystanders with the airsoft rifles, according to MS NOW. Five law enforcement sources told the outlet the suspect appeared to be an anti ICE radical.

Video from the scene showed smoke billowing near the entrance of the federal building as ICE agents, FBI personnel, and other officers rushed outside with weapons drawn. Federal Protective Service officers quickly took the suspect into custody. Authorities shut down the surrounding sidewalk and evacuated the building while investigators secured the area.

According to the FBI, the incident unfolded at approximately 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

"This morning an individual deployed an incendiary device outside of 26 Federal Plaza. The individual has been taken into custody and the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the incident," the FBI said.

FBI Director Kash Patel later confirmed that there were "two minor injuries reported thus far."

Law enforcement sources told MS NOW that the incendiary device consisted of fireworks placed inside a shopping cart, soaked with an accelerant, and then set ablaze.

The New York Police Department also confirmed that a firearm was recovered in connection with the incident, although investigators have not yet established whether it belonged to the suspect or whether it was separate from the reported airsoft rifles.

The choice of location was hardly accidental. Twenty six Federal Plaza houses the New York City Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as a federal immigration court. It serves as the operational center for ICE enforcement activities across New York City's five boroughs and numerous surrounding counties.

The attack arrives against the backdrop of increasingly hostile rhetoric surrounding immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security has previously warned of a dramatic rise in attacks targeting ICE officers, reporting a 3,300 percent increase in vehicle assaults during a recent period compared with the previous year.

Whether this case ultimately results in terrorism charges remains for investigators to determine. What is already beyond dispute is that attempts to intimidate public servants through violence represent an assault on the rule of law itself. A society that tolerates politically motivated intimidation because it is directed at unfashionable institutions soon discovers that violence rarely confines itself to one target. Once ideological fanaticism is excused, it has an unfortunate habit of expanding its ambitions.

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MSNBC is getting a divorce and it's fantastic

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for a seismic shakeup in the media world. The liberal bastion known as MSNBC is getting a dramatic rebrand, soon to be dubbed "MS NOW"-- that's "My Source News Opinion World," if you're keeping score. This bombshell dropped on Monday’s "Morning Joe," and let me tell you, it's more than just a name change. It's a corporate divorce that's been brewing for years, and' about to get messy.

For decades, NBC and MSNBC have been joined at the hip, like a power couple in the news game. But Comcast, the parent company, is pulling the plug on this marriage, splitting its NBCUniversal empire. Comcast announced last year it's spinning off its cable networks into a new entity called Versant. That's right, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel are all packing their bags and moving out, while NBCUniversal holds onto NBC News, NBC News Now, Telemundo, and Bravo. It's a high-stakes custody battle over brands, talent, and real estate, and the fallout is already raising eyebrows.

Let's talk about the split. MSNBC’'s Rachel 'Mad Cow' Maddow and NBC's Savannah Guthrie are no longer playing for the same team. Once the divorce is finalized by the end of 2025, these two won't even be colleagues under the NBCUniversal umbrella. And the iconic Peacock is getting a makeover at MSNBC, replaced by a new logo: a striped flag in red, white, and blue, but not an American flag because they really don't like America all that much. Goodbye, fashionable fowl; hello, patriotic flair. Meanwhile, CNBC, ever the steady one, keeps its "Consumer News and Business Channel" name intact. No drama there.

Now, let's get to the real estate drama. 

Rockefeller Center, 30 Rock, has been the beating heart of NBC since forever, and MSNBC called it home since its launch in 1996. But in this divorce, NBC gets to keep the house. MSNBC is being evicted, forced to set up shop temporarily on 43rd Street while they hunt for a permanent new home. They're also vacating NBC's D.C. bureau near the Capitol and striking out on their own. 

Talk about a fresh start, or more accurately, a forced one.

NBC and MSNBC have long shared their so called stars, with hosts and correspondents bouncing between the two like it's no big deal. But now, lines are being drawn. NBC is holding onto Steve Kornacki, their data wizard who has been a staple of MSNBC's election nights. Andrea Mitchell, after wrapping her long-running MSNBC show "Andrea Mitchell Reports" in February, is staying with NBC as their chief Washington and foreign affairs correspondent. José Díaz-Balart is out at MSNBC but keeping his gigs anchoring "NBC Nightly News Saturday" and Noticias Telemundo.

Meanwhile, MS NOW (or as Greg Gutfeld referred to them as: "Miserable Sh*t No One Watches") is building its roster, snagging some heavy hitters from NBC. Justice reporters Ken Dilanian and Ryan Reilly, national correspondent Jacob Soboroff, White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, and internet reporter Brandy Zadrozny are all jumping ship to MS NOW. MSNBC's current lineup, including Stephanie Ruhle, who's juggled roles as NBC's senior business analyst and host of "The 11th Hour," will stay put through the rebrand. And in a rare win, Willie Geist, the guy who pulls double duty on NBC's "Sunday TODAY" and MSNBC's "Morning Joe," has scored a deal to keep both gigs post-split, according to a source who spoke to Fox News Digital. 

Now that's some serious negotiating power.

But let's not kid ourselves, this isn't just a corporate reshuffle. MSNBC has been on a hiring spree, poaching big names like veteran journalist Carol Leonnig from the struggling Washington Post, because they know they're losing NBC's news-gathering muscle. The question is, can MS NOW stand on its own without the Peacock’s clout? 

And what does this mean for a network that's leaned so heavily on its liberal identity? The name "MS NOW" screams agenda-driven journalism. And don't let that flag fool you: MS NOW is not pivoting to the center.

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