Representative Ilhan Omar’s push for a national gun registry is colliding head-on with new scrutiny over a massive welfare fraud scandal in her Minnesota district and questions about influence, loyalty, and money swirling around her inner circle.
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Below is a straight rundown of what we actually know from public reporting, plus some fact-checking on her family background.
Omar Says Quiet Part Out Loud on Gun Registration
In a recent video clip that’s been making the rounds in gun-rights circles, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–MN) lays out what she wants to see at the federal level:
“We have more guns in this country than we have humans. So one of the things that is going to be important is to create a registry so we know where the guns are. We know when they go into the wrong hands when they’re stolen. And we can actually start a buyback program. I know that some of the Minnesota legislators have had that legislation and that’s something that we should be thinking about on a federal level.” (Shooting News Weekly)
On her campaign site and public statements, Omar has long backed what she calls “comprehensive” gun control: banning so-called “assault weapons,” banning standard-capacity magazines, universal background checks on all sales, and more federal legislation on top of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act she supported. (Wikipedia)
What’s new here is how blunt she is about a federal registry plus a national “buyback”—something gun owners have always warned is the end goal of registration.
NRA & 2A Groups: Registration = Confiscation
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Gun-rights groups didn’t let that clip slide.
The NRA responded on social media:
“ Make no mistake: So-called ‘gun registries’ are the first step to firearm confiscations.
@IlhanMN’s agenda has nothing to do with safety. It’s all about eroding your Second Amendment rights.” (Facebook)
Other gun-rights organizations and commentators echoed the same basic point:
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You can’t “buy back” what the government never owned in the first place.
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A registry is the tool that lets the government know exactly where to go if the law later changes and bans certain guns.
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Historically, in other countries, registration often came first, and confiscation followed later.
Omar and her allies frame the registry as a way to “know where the guns are,” track stolen firearms, and reduce what she calls a “gun violence epidemic.” (The Truth About Guns)
For gun owners, especially younger 2A supporters, the video clip feels like confirmation of what they already suspected: the real target isn’t crime, it’s civilian gun ownership itself.
Massive Somali-Linked Welfare Fraud in Omar’s Backyard
At the same time Omar is calling for the government to track every lawful gun owner, her district has been rocked by one of the largest welfare fraud scandals in U.S. history.
Here’s the basic outline from Fox News and other reporting: (Fox News)
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During COVID, roughly $250 million and growing in federal child-nutrition money in Minnesota was supposed to pay for meals for low-income kids.
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Much of that money was routed through the nonprofit Feeding Our Future and a web of associated groups and businesses, many tied to the Somali community in Minnesota.
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Federal prosecutors say the money was stolen and spent on mansions, luxury cars, and high-end shopping instead of feeding children.
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In total, around 78 people have been charged in what DOJ calls a nearly $1 billion-scale welfare fraud network connected to child-nutrition and related programs. (Fox News)
Omar is not charged in any of these cases. But reporting from the New York Post and others lays out how close the scam got to her political orbit: (Fox News)
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Omar introduced the 2020 MEALS Act, which loosened rules so organizations could more easily claim federal money for feeding kids during COVID. That same law is what prosecutors say was exploited for at least $250 million in fraud. (Fox News)
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One key player, Salim Ahmed Said, co-owner of Safari Restaurant, held Omar’s 2018 victory party at his restaurant. He was convicted of stealing more than $12 million by claiming to have served “phantom” meals and spent the cash on a $2 million mansion and luxury shopping. (Fox News)
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Another man, Guhaad Hashi Said, a Democratic activist and former Omar campaign worker, pleaded guilty to running a fake food site that claimed 5,000 kids a day and pocketed around $3.2 million. He worked on Omar’s 2018 and 2020 campaigns as an “enforcer” for Somali-community voter turnout. (Fox News)
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Omar’s campaign received $7,400 in donations from people later indicted in the scheme; her team says that money was returned after the indictments. (AOL)
Critics say there’s no way a member of Congress plugged into such a tight-knit community could miss a scam this big operating in her own backyard. One Minnesota policy fellow quoted by The Post argued that Omar either was “terminally naive, or knew and didn’t care.” (AOL)
Omar’s response has been to blame the FBI.
spewing out of her mouth that will not solve any crimes committed by felony criminals that are prohibited from owning firearms. She is not an American protecting the American Constitution by which she took an Oath to protect that Constitution. Doesn’t she understand our AMERICAN CONSTITUTION and THE BILL of RIGHTS(1776)??? NO, none of these Eastern Americans or wherever they’re from don’t abide by our laws even if they were born here. So UN-AMERICAN and why are they allowed to hold positions in our AMERICAN government.
