According to a recent report in the U.K. Daily Mail, new claims have surfaced about Ilhan Omar’s past marriage to Ahmed Elmi, which some allege was a sham designed to secure immigration benefits.
While Omar has repeatedly denied the allegations, a close associate of her first husband, Abdihakim Osman, has come forward with statements that fuel long-standing rumours.
Osman, a friend of Ahmed Hirsi, Omar’s first and third husband—told the Daily Mail that the marriage between Omar and Elmi was widely known in Minneapolis’ Somali community as fraudulent. He claimed that Omar referred to Elmi as her brother and that the marriage was solely for immigration purposes.
Adding to the controversy, Osman revealed that Omar and Elmi’s wedding was conducted by a Christian minister, despite both being Muslim. He speculated that imams in Minneapolis refused to officiate the marriage because they were aware of the alleged sibling connection.
From a Private Affair to Public Scrutiny
Omar first married Ahmed Hirsi in a Muslim ceremony in 2002, though the marriage was not officially registered. The couple had two children before Omar suddenly married Ahmed Elmi in 2009.
According to Osman, Elmi was sent to Minneapolis from the U.K. for “rehab,” though not in relation to substance abuse. The Somali community soon took notice of his presence, especially due to his effeminate demeanor. “He was very feminine in the way he dressed—light lipstick, pink clothes, and very short shorts in the summer,” Osman recalled.
What raised further suspicion was the stark contrast between Omar’s lavish first wedding and the secrecy surrounding her marriage to Elmi. While her marriage to Hirsi was a major event attended by over 100-150 guests, no one knew about her marriage to Elmi until journalists uncovered the marriage certificate years later.
Omar and Elmi’s marriage lasted until 2017, when she officially divorced him. The very next year, she “remarried” Hirsi, this time in a legally recognized ceremony. However, by then, she had already had a child while still legally married to Elmi.
Eventually, Omar and Hirsi split in 2019 after reports surfaced about her affair with her chief fundraiser, Tim Mynett. She later married Mynett, while Hirsi also moved on and remarried.
While this controversy had faded over time, recent reports suggest that the FBI has obtained a trove of documents related to Omar’s marriage to Elmi. The extent of their investigation remains unclear, but marriage fraud is a serious federal offense that carries penalties of up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Elon Musk’s reaction
As I was saying…https://t.co/cQJLtCbEaO https://t.co/p7CNZHqWMj pic.twitter.com/geGmPTzl84
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 11, 2025
