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MINNEAPOLIS — The Republican running an underdog bid to unseat embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, tore into his progressive opponent after her Washington, D.C., home was raided a month before the midterm election.
John Nagel said it should be easy for the Somali-born congresswoman to clear up any public misunderstandings of her immigration status amid a federal investigation into alleged fraud and said that Omar views herself as Somali first, American second.
He also claimed that Minneapolis has a “terrorist problem” and a gun-running operation, and called for a task force to crack down on the Somali gang violence.
“We have two problems in Minnesota. We have a terrorist problem, which you saw with the Mall of America — thank God that the FBI actually took care of that before anybody got in there — and then we have a Somali gang problem,” the career law enforcement officer told Digital.
Digital spoke to retired Minnesota State Trooper John Nagel about his bid to unseat Dem. Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. ( Digital ; Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Nagel, who spent 30 years as a state trooper, claims the issue extends beyond Somali gangs, noting: “We have Somali gangs, we have Asian gangs, we have Black gangs, we have Latino gangs and we need a gang task force.”
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The FBI thwarted a terror attack at the Mall of America, located in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, on Oct. 7, 2026.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested and charged with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony and federal crime of terrorism. He is an American citizen born to Somali parents, who allegedly pledged allegiance to Somali-based ISIS offshoot al-Shabaab.
Separately, Somali gangs were blamed by local officials for two separate shooting instances in the Minneapolis suburbs in past weeks. One was a mass shooting at Eden Prairie High School during the school’s homecoming celebration. The shooting, which injured two, occurred in the parking lot of the high school after gang members were seen making gang signs at one another. Abdirahman Ahmed Jama, 18 was arrested on a riot charge in that incident.
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Court documents said that Jama was the target of a later Somali gang shooting at a gas station in the town of Bloomington, likely in retaliation for the homecoming shooting, according to FOX 9. More than 100 rounds of ammunition were fired in that incident.
“They don’t necessarily deal in drugs yet. They’re kind of a low-level gang, but they’re still vicious,” Nagel said of the gangs. “Primarily, they deal in guns. They buy and sell guns, illicit guns. They’re also the ones that know how to take and remove some parts and basically turn a pistol into a little mini machine gun. That’s what we saw in Bloomington and Eden Prairie, you know, where all of those rounds were expanded.”
John Nagel blamed his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Democratic Party for not doing enough to stop violence tied to Somali-American gangs in the Twin Cities. ( Digital ; Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
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After the recent uptick in suburban Somali violence, according to Nagel, local officials have finally recognized the violence as Somali gang-related, after strong pushback from anyone who suggested that in recent years.
Nagel said that when Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said a year ago that Somali gang violence was a problem, he was called a “racist” and “immediately attacked by the Somali community.”
“And of course, you know, the media loves that, and they went right along with it,” he said. “[The] problem was, he was right. There was a Somali gang problem.”
“So, we’re in a really good spot because we’ve now all come out and said, ‘yes, we have a Somali gang problem,’ and that being called a racist doesn’t have a sting to it anymore,” Nagel continued.
The Minneapolis skyline, in and around where Somali gangs are cropping up, is seen. (Arthur Maiorella/Getty Images)
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As for Omar, who is under criminal probe for potentially falsifying information on her immigration paperwork, Nagel said she deserves due process, but that she actively tries to undermine the United States.
“It’s a very serious accusation, and we definitely want due process,” he said. “She deserves the same investigation that everybody else would have, and in her own words, no one is above the law.”
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Nagel added that while it’s not incumbent upon Omar to prove her innocence, he thinks it would be simple for the Somali-born congresswoman to clear up any public misunderstandings of her immigration status.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks at a news conference ahead of the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“However, it would be very simple if you are innocent to be able to come up with the paperwork, do the DNA sample. I mean, there are a lot of things that you could do that put a lot this behind you, and I would think that as a politician, you know, you’re not a private person anymore, you’re a public person,” he said. “The people that voted for you have a right to know if they can trust you, and as a politician, I would be doing everything I could to make sure that I maintain that trust. And right now, I don’t see much trust in what she’s doing.”
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Ultimately, Nagel thinks Omar views herself as a Somali first.
“Her first love is Somalia. She constantly tells people that. She constantly tell the United States how we’re doing everything wrong, and she constantly tries to take the United States and weaken it. “So yes, as far as I’m concerned, Somalia comes first in her life and we are nothing more than a piggy bank for her.”
