A prominent Minnesota Democrat is breaking ranks as federal authorities investigate Rep. Ilhan Omar’s personal finances and immigration history. Joe Radinovich, a former Minnesota state representative and established DFL operative, said Thursday that he believes the federal probe has legitimacy.

The public split marks another crack in the political protection surrounding Omar as investigations and allegations continue to mount. Radinovich focused specifically on claims that Omar married her brother as part of an alleged fraudulent immigration scheme.

“Democrats should understand that the allegation is almost certainly true—whatever conclusion they draw from that point could vary—and her denials calling it a right-wing, Islamophobic or racist conspiracy are almost certainly not,” Radinovich posted on X.

Democrats should understand that the allegation is almost certainly true—whatever conclusion they draw from that point could vary—and her denials calling it a right-wing, Islamophobic or racist conspiracy are almost certainly not.

— Joe Radinovich (@joeradinovich) October 29, 2026

Radinovich served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the Minnesota DFL. He also warned that the separate investigation into Omar’s finances could prove troublesome.

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“And then I’d be very, very careful about how I qualified on allegations around her finances—where her defense looks similar and where no meaningful questions have been answered publicly, and where any objective look at the evidence doesn’t look…great,” Radinovich said.

His connections reach across Minnesota’s Democratic political establishment. Radinovich managed Democrat Rick Nolan’s 2016 congressional campaign, ran Jacob Frey’s successful 2017 campaign for Minneapolis mayor and later served as Frey’s chief of staff.

Radinovich also won the DFL nomination for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in 2018 before losing to Republican Pete Stauber. His criticism therefore came from someone with deep ties to the party rather than from a conservative commentator.

Briana Rose Lee, a Minneapolis DFL activist who served as an operations director for Omar’s campaign operation, called the investigation a “witch hunt.” She wrote, “Joe. You aren’t stupid. You know this is a baseless and manufactured witch hunt. I’m actually surprised to see this from you. It’s a new low.”

Radinovich did not back down. “You’re right,” he responded. “I’m not stupid. I believe the Trump DOJ has next to no credibility and that it’s unclear to me the timing of the raid was appropriate—though it’s notable a DC judge signed off on it—but I’m pretty confident this specific allegation is true.”

Democrats are starting to turn on Ilhan Omar as former Minnesota Democrat admits allegations of marriage and immigration fraud are likely TRUE.

“I’m not stupid” Former Democratic state Rep. Joe Radinovich broke ranks with his own party, saying allegations that Omar married her brother are “almost certainly true” and dismissing her claims of a right-wing conspiracy. It’s about to get bad. — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 30, 2026

The scrutiny is no longer confined to conservative media or the MAGA base. The New York Times, MSNBC, NBC News and The Associated Press have reported on evidence suggesting Omar’s marriage and citizenship may have been fraudulent, although no criminal charges have been filed against her.

Homeland Security Investigations raided Omar’s Washington, D.C., home on Oct. 12, 2026. Her passport, phone, and computer were seized during the operation, which took place in the early morning.

Fox News later reported that investigators possess Omar’s DNA. Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, voluntarily submitted to questioning shortly after the raid and skipped her book tour because of a “family emergency.”

Sources told Fox News Digital that the raid stemmed from an investigation into whether Omar or her late father, Nur Mohamed, fraudulently completed her citizenship paperwork decades ago. According to those sources, the investigation could lead to Omar’s denaturalization.

Questions also remain about whether Omar allegedly married her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in a fraudulent immigration scheme. The allegation has followed Omar for a decade, beginning when she first ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016.

Court filings from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia referred to Omar as “Ilhan Omar Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Omar,” suggesting she shares a surname with the man she married in 2009. Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is a British citizen, while sources later told Fox News Digital that Ilhan Omar is not the congresswoman’s real name.

Omar’s office has consistently denied the immigration fraud allegation and characterized it as a right-wing smear. Omar most recently argued that the renewed scrutiny was the product of a political “vendetta” by President Donald Trump.

Fox News Digital confirmed Thursday that former President Barack Obama’s administration opened a probe into the allegedly fraudulent marriage in 2016. One source said the investigation remained open until 2021, when the Biden administration closed it, while the Times reported that investigators believed the statute of limitations on a potential crime had passed.

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