‘Sorry, Trump’: Ilhan Omar fires back after Trump targets her in Truth Social post

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota accused President Donald Trump of “deflecting” after he took aim at her in a Truth Social post on Monday.

In part of his post, Trump said, “the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”

The left-wing lawmaker fired back in a post on X.

ONE YEAR, ONE CHART AND AN EYE-POPPING JUMP IN ILHAN OMAR’S PERSONAL WEALTH

“Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking. Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota,” she wrote.

Before mentioning Omar in the Monday Truth Social post, Trump had also noted, “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me. Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets.”

Omar advocates abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

MEET THE LONGTIME BIZ PARTNER OF ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND AS QUESTIONS SWIRL OVER HER SKYROCKETING NET WORTH

“ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it,” she declared in part of a Sunday post on X.

In a January 18 Truth Social post, Trump said that Omar should either be jailed or sent back to Somalia.

“There is 19 Billion Dollars in Minnesota Somalia Fraud. Fake ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know. She should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!” the president declared in the post.

TRUMP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO ILHAN OMAR’S WEALTH, SAYS IT SHOULD START ‘NOW’

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Omar, who has served in the House of Representatives since early 2019, was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

I survived Antifa violence — now Minnesota is repeating dangerous left-wing mistakes

In February 2024, an Antifa radical, consumed with hatred for my conservative policies and Christian faith, detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) outside my attorney general’s office in Montgomery, Ala. The IED was packed with nails and metal shrapnel, projectiles designed to tear through flesh, shatter bone and kill anyone within the blast radius. Had the device been placed just a few feet closer, or had staff been arriving for work at that moment, we would have been planning funerals instead of counting blessings.

Thankfully, no one was injured that day and the perpetrator was caught, but the attack represented something larger and more dangerous that is rapidly becoming normalized: a culture where political violence masquerades as legitimate political speech.

Sadly, civic leaders who are called to emulate a higher societal standard have implicitly condoned this new brand of impassioned activism. In many cases, they’re quite pleased to see it, convinced that the sincerity of their feelings justifies whatever actions their allies take, regardless of lawfulness.

FLASHBACK: ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DETONATED OUTSIDE OFFICE OVER WEEKEND

Unrestrained by ethical guardrails or even common sense, these political mercenaries soldier on to the next melodrama, eager to throw themselves into the fray to secure media attention for a cause they’re convinced is noble and the public affirmation that scratches their itch for attention. In recent weeks, that means they’re focused squarely on Minneapolis, where federal officials are investigating a widespread network of taxpayer fraud in a scheme conducted primarily by Somali immigrants who obtained millions in government contracts to operate nonexistent childcare centers.

When ICE began enforcement actions related to the investigation, including a raid that resulted in the death of Renee Good when she drove her car into a law enforcement officer, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis.” And Sunday, on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., responded to the death of Alex Pretti by proclaiming, “My message is simple: [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is making us not more safe, they’re making us less safe, and they need to get out of our state.”

The combustible rhetoric, which frames law enforcement as the enemy rather than those breaking the law or interfering with its enforcement, clearly inflames an already tense situation.

FORMER ICE AGENT CALLS POLICE NON-COOPERATION ‘FORMULA FOR DISASTER’ AFTER SECOND MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING DEATH

It’s hard to witness Democratic officials like Frey repeat the same mistakes that nearly got me killed. These liberal standard-bearers are establishing permission structures that signal to emotionally immature activists that whatever tantrum they want to throw is acceptable, appropriate and justified. As someone who narrowly escaped deadly political violence, I know the ramifications of such callous disregard for civility and the rule of law, and I’m watching those same corrosive conditions take root in Minneapolis.

As someone who narrowly escaped deadly political violence, I know the ramifications of such callous disregard for civility and the rule of law, and I’m watching those same corrosive conditions take root in Minneapolis.

Recently, an unruly mob stormed Cities Church during worship, forcing parents to shield their wailing children as demonstrators swarmed the sanctuary and belligerently accused the pastor of moonlighting as a field director for ICE. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon joined the chaos, livestreaming the intimidation and lending it legitimacy. These weren’t protesters. By Lemon’s own admission, they were conducting “Operation Pull-Up,” a deliberate tactical operation to confront Christians and interfere with religious practice.

NOEM SAYS ‘ARRESTS COMING’ AFTER ANTI-ICE MOB TARGETED MINNESOTA CHURCH

The response from Democratic officials was predictable. Because the mob claimed moral authority, the illegality of their terror was downplayed or ignored. The media insisted it was just a “peaceful protest” by concerned citizens. But this is precisely what theFACE Actis designed to prosecute: using force to “injure, intimidate or interfere” with people exercising their religious freedom. The Biden administration weaponized this very law to target pro-life advocates peacefully praying outside abortion clinics. What happened in Minneapolis is the textbook scenario this law was actually meant to address.

I’ve seen this pattern before. It started with the demonstrations after George Floyd‘s death — events that honest observers remember for what they became: excuses to riot, loot and intimidate under the guise of progressive moralism and racial justice. When incendiary language from politicians went unchecked in the summer of 2020, entire Minneapolis neighborhoods burned to the ground, causing millions in property damage for innocent people, many of whom were immigrant or minority entrepreneurs, as activists went wild.

ICE SAYS VIOLENT MOB HELPED CRIMINAL ESCAPE AND LEFT ICE AGENT PERMANENTLY MAIMED

We cannot allow this mass chaos again. The effects are too real and too devastating.

President Trump was elected with a mandate to restore immigration sanity, and a key part of keeping his promise is bringing to justice those who abuse our system and exploit our generosity. In the case of the Minneapolis fraud scheme, he’s doing exactly what he said he would do.

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The American people deserve leaders who safeguard their rights, not neglect them when it’s politically expedient. An embrace of radical political tactics benefits no one, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder or those simply wishing to express their views freely.

Having survived an attack by the very forces now mobilizing in Minneapolis, I can say with certainty: there’s no good response to extremist intimidation but unshakeable resolve – to take it seriously, to prosecute it fully when it occurs and to take every measure necessary to protect law-abiding citizens from terror and harassment. 

As my state’s chief law enforcement officer, I know firsthand that violent criminals, including those motivated by political extremism, will only be deterred when they have reason to believe legitimate consequences for lawbreaking could await them.

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It’s incumbent upon all leaders to stand for the rule of law and reject inflammatory language before more offices are bombed, more churches are stormed and more communities are destroyed. The temperature is rising. Those in positions of authority must decide whether they’ll enable the chaos or stand against it.

I know which side I’m on.

Trump’s immigration crackdown in the spotlight ahead of midterms as fatal MN shootings ignite backlash

A second fatal shooting this month by federal agents in Minneapolis is putting President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown carried out by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents in the spotlight.

The shootings of Renee Good, a mother of three, earlier this month, and nurse Alex Pretti this past weekend, as they protested federal agents carrying out immigration operations, sparked national debate and demonstrations, further inflaming political tensions over Trump’s push for the mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants.

Trump’s immigration crackdown turned up the heat on Republican incumbents and candidates on the ballot in this year’s midterm elections, forcing them to walk a tightrope as they defend the Trump administration’s increasingly unpopular illegal immigration enforcement efforts.

WHY A MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE DROPPED HIS BID FOR GOVERNOR AFTER SECOND FATAL SHOOTING

“I think it’s going to make things more difficult,” Amy Koch, a Minnesota-based Republican strategist and former state senator told Fox News Digital. “The images and the energy behind the ICE out movement will definitely play against Republicans.”

The two shootings and the massive deployment of ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis has also deflated coverage of a deepening federal investigation into the sweeping fraud scandal in Minnesota’s social services programs.

TRUMP DEPLOYS BORDER CZAR TO MINNESOTA IN WAKE OF SECOND FATAL SHOOTING

The scandal, which spurred Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid for a third term, had given Republicans hope of breaking their ballot box losing streak by flipping an open governor’s office and Senate seat in November’s midterm elections in the blue-leaning state.

“Four weeks ago, I would have told you Republicans were going to do incredibly well statewide in Minnesota, and now I have a lot of questions,” said Koch, the first and only woman elected as Minnesota Senate majority leader.

Illegal immigration, along with persistent inflation, was a key issue that boosted Trump and the GOP to decisive ballot box victories in 2024, as they won back the White House and Senate and successfully defended their razor-thin House majority.

But even before the fatal shooting of Pretti, national polls conducted earlier this month spotlighted flagging support for ICE and a deterioration of Trump’s approval on immigration.

Among the most recent surveys, a New York Times/Siena Poll conducted Jan. 12–17 and released on Thursday, showed a slight majority approving of the job Trump is doing on the southern border with Mexico and his administration’s deportation efforts.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM ‘DESTROYING OR ALTERING’ EVIDENCE IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING

But the president’s overall approval on the issue of immigration was underwater in the poll, with nearly two-thirds disapproving of how ICE was handling their job and 61% saying ICE’s tactics had gone too far.

“The approval for Donald Trump on an issue that worked for him, immigration, is down and going down further,” University of Minnesota public affairs professor Larry Jacobs told Fox News Digital.

Jacobs said that the “cracking down on illegal immigration, the conduct of ICE has squandered the advantage” in public opinion that Trump once enjoyed.

A veteran Republican strategist told Fox News Digital that “the missteps have turned a plus into either a neutral issue or a net negative at best. People don’t like illegal immigration, but they are also troubled by the tactics that they’re seeing.”

And the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, noted that “the midterms are many times about putting a check on executive power. Best not to give the opposition an issue that they can legitimately argue you should be a check on and that’s what he [Trump] has done here.”

Mike Erlandson, a veteran Minnesota-based Democratic strategist and former state Democratic Party chair, said, “I think the president did win on securing the border and even won on removing the worst of the worst from our country.”

But he emphasized that “even if people agree that removing the worst of the worst is the right thing to do, that’s not what we’re seeing with the chaos on the streets of Minneapolis.”

FOX NEWS’S MELUGIN: FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PRIVATELY FUME

On Monday, a Minneapolis lawyer who represented the immigration agent who fatally shot Renee Good ended his Republican bid for Minnesota governor.

“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Chris Madel said in a message posted on social media, as he announced he was dropping his outsider bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. “Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”

Madel said he supported “the originally stated goals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge in locating and deporting the worst of the worst from our state,” but charged that the operation had become “an unmitigated disaster.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials initially said Pretti, who was legally armed with a handgun, was threatening agents, who they say fired in self-defense. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the actions of Pretti as “domestic terrorism” and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called him a “would-be assassin.”

But videos of the shooting seem to indicate Pretti was brandishing a cell phone rather than his handgun, with federal agents appearing to secure Pretti’s weapon moments before he was shot multiple times.

But two days after the shooting, there was a slightly different tone from the White House, with the president taking to social media to highlight that on Monday he had a “very good call” with Walz, who has been a Trump punching bag dating back to the governor’s stint as the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee.

Trump added that he and Walz “actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”

Walz, in a statement, said that the president “agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota” and to allow state and local authorities to investigate Pretti’s shooting, which is now in the hands of federal officials.

And hours later, sources told Fox News that some of the Border Patrol agents and their commanding officer would be leaving Minnesota as early as Tuesday.

“Everyone understands the gravity of the situation. It was a very difficult video to watch, and I think the administration understands that a robust and transparent response is needed to ensure public confidence in the agencies, tactics and mission,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams said.

Williams noted that “the situation looks bad,” but emphasized that “no one understands optics better than Donald Trump.”

Republican Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, pointing to the call between Trump and Walz, said that “we have an opportunity to reset, and I’m encouraged that Gov. Walz and the President are having conversations about where we go from here.”

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, one of Demuth’s top rivals for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and chair of the state House Fraud Prevention Committee, said, “I’ve been calling on Tim Walz to cooperate with federal officials, and I’m glad he has finally listened.”

Minnesota Republicans entered the new year “feeling assured of Republican wins in 2026 because of the fraud issue,” Koch said.

But the Good and Pretti shootings pushed Minnesota’s fraud scandal off the national radar.

“Republicans had Walz and Democrats on the ropes with what was a massive fraud. That story has disappeared and there’s a question about can it be revived and, if so, will it ever get the kind of visibility as a singular issue that it had,” Jacobs said.

Erlandson noted that Trump in recent days has been “trying to put fraud back on the table in Minnesota.”

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The Republican strategist lamented that because of the shootings, “I think we’ve lost the narrative around that argument, which was a winner for us.”

But Koch, pointing to the impact of the shootings on Minnesota Republicans on the ballot later this year, said, “I think we can still recover because it’s early…it’s a long way away from November.”

DHS shares obscene, threatening voicemail sent to ICE agent, blaming local pols for ‘incitement’

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security on Monday released an expletive-laden, sexually-explicit voicemail that a Minnesota-based ICE agent received from an apparent agitator amid unrest in Minneapolis.

Fox News Digital is not posting the clip due to its content, but the caller told the agent he is a fascist and that he should commit suicide.

“I hope your wife dies. I hope your mom and dad die. I hope everything wrong that could go [on] in your life happens. I hope you have the most miserable life,” the caller said.

VANCE CALLS MINNEAPOLIS UNREST ‘ENGINEERED CHAOS’ AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING

“You are a traitor to the American people, to the values that made our country.”

The caller then wishes that the agent is hit by a transit vehicle, and faces a divorce after his apparent wife cheats on him due to medical complications.

The caller then wishes that the agent be hit by a transit vehicle and face a divorce after his apparent wife cheats on him due to medical complications.

DHS SAYS ICE AGENTS RAMMED BY VEHICLES AMID MINNEAPOLIS ENFORCEMENT SURGE: ‘AGGRESSIVELY ASSAULTED’

In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed local “sanctuary politicians” for inciting such “threatening rhetoric and unprecedented violence” through their “repeated vilification” of federal law enforcement.

She cited repeated comparisons between ICE and the Geheime Staatspolizei — the German Nazi “Gestapo” secret state police — and 1800s-era slave patrols.

“The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin said.

JD VANCE SHARES ‘CRAZY’ STORY OF ICE AND CBP OFFICERS BEING MOBBED IN MINNEAPOLIS

“Like everyone else, we just want to go home to our families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.”

McLaughlin said ICE has faced an 8,000% increase in death threats and 1,300% increase in assaults during the second Trump administration despite the fact that they are conducting operations to remove “rapists, terrorists and gang members from American neighborhoods.”

She added that Secretary Kristi Noem’s message to agitators and people who threaten violence on ICE remains that “you will not stop us or slow us down.”

TRUMP URGES DHS, ICE TO PUBLICIZE ARRESTS, SAYS CRACKDOWN IS ‘SAVING MANY INNOCENT LIVES’

The agency said that assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is not only dangerous but is a federal crime and a felony. “And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer or dox our officers, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” it said in a statement.

In light of the voicemail, the agency urged the public to report threats, doxxing, harassment and other infractions against ICE agents by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

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Democrats have in turn floated impeachment proceedings against Noem over ICE’s operations, with Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana confirming such in a hearing Monday called by the minority caucus of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Fox News Digital reached out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for comment.

Minnesota drags Trump’s ICE to court in effort to pause immigration crackdown

Lawyers for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota urged a federal judge on Monday to halt the Trump administration’s sprawling immigration crackdown in the state, arguing that the campaign, “Operation Metro Surge,” amounts to an “unlawful” and “unchecked invasion” that violates the state’s sovereignty protections under the 10th Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, ultimately adjourned court without indicating when she planned to rule on the emergency request — even as she acknowledged both the timeliness and importance of the case before her.

 “If I had a burner in front of the front burner, this would be on it,” Menendez said. 

At issue in the case is an emergency lawsuit filed earlier this month seeking to end the Trump administration’s deployment of some 3,000 ICE agents in Minnesota, who were sent there in recent weeks as part of the immigration crackdown.

GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS

Lawyers for the state described the operation Monday as “essentially an army.” 

They also argued that the sustained presence of ICE agents there had created an environment “so unprecedented, so intense, [that] it has created such an environment of fear,” and urged the court to issue a temporary restraining order immediately to block the surge of additional ICE officers into the state.

“Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today,” Lindsey Middlecamp, a lawyer for the state of Minnesota, urged the court.

The hearing also notably focused on a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) hours earlier, seeking access to the state’s voter rolls and certain public assistance data, such as enrollment information. Bondi’s letter described the three requests to the state as an effort to “help bring back law and order” to the state.

But lawyers for Minnesota disputed that in court, saying Monday that the letter was “extortionate” and amounted to a “ransom note.”

Menendez pressed Justice Department lawyer Brantley Mayers for specifics on the letter in question. It “really, strongly suggests that, if the state will do three things,” then “this will end,” she said, referring to the ICE enforcement operation. 

“Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it can’t achieve through the courts?” she asked Mayers. 

BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA SLAM ICE AFTER MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING, URGE ACCOUNTABILITY

Mayers and other DOJ lawyers declined to offer additional details on the letter. They spent their time doubling down on their assertion that Trump’s actions are legally sound, noting in a filing that DHS has “delivered” on Trump’s campaign promises “by surging resources to the removal of aliens who entered this country illegally,” including in Minnesota.

Brian Carter, a lawyer for Minnesota, told the court that the situation on the streets “is so dire” that “relief is appropriate now — and it should be granted now.”  

“At its heart, the issue is that the federal government is attempting to bend the state’s will to its own,” Carter said. “And that is not allowed under the Constitution.”

The emergency hearing comes as tensions between ICE agents and protesters continued to escalate in recent days following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and the protester killed this month in a confrontation between federal immigration officers and civilians.

MINNESOTA PASTOR CONDEMNS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO INTERRUPTED SERVICE: ‘SHAMEFUL AND UNLAWFUL’

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Still, Menendez did seem wary of the claim that she could determine that the administration’s actions violated state sovereignty protections under the 10th Amendment.

“How do I decide when a law enforcement response crosses the line from a legitimate law enforcement response to a response that violates the 10th Amendment?” she pressed lawyers for the state of Minnesota.

 Still, she said it was unclear if it was “appropriate” to halt the full ICE operation or whether more narrow options might suffice.

One year, one chart and an eye-popping jump in Ilhan Omar’s personal wealth

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s latest federal financial disclosures show millions of dollars in newly reported assets tied to her husband’s businesses, representing a massive increase compared to previous years’ listings.

The disclosures, filed as part of Congress’ annual financial reporting requirements, come as Omar has publicly denied being a millionaire, labeling such assertions “ridiculous.”

Despite those denials, the sudden appearance of the assets at high valuations has raised questions about her husband’s business holdings and prompted President Donald Trump to call for a Department of Justice investigation into the couple’s shared wealth.

Omar’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

MEET THE LONGTIME BIZ PARTNER OF ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND AS QUESTIONS SWIRL OVER HER SKYROCKETING NET WORTH

Two of her husband’s business ventures, a Santa Rosa, California-based winery and a Washington, D.C.–based venture capital firm, account for the bulk of the reported assets.

Federal disclosure forms do not list exact amounts, instead reporting assets in broad ranges; the figures shown in the chart below reflect the midpoint of those ranges for comparison.

The winery, listed as eStCru LLC, saw its reported valuation jump from a range of $15,000 to $50,000 in 2023 to between $1 million and $5 million the following year. 

Rose Lake Capital showed an even sharper increase, rising from a reported value of between $1 and $1,000 in 2023 to an asset range of $5 million to $25 million in 2024.

TRUMP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO ILHAN OMAR’S WELATH, SAYS IT SHOULD START ‘NOW’ 

At the same time, Omar’s disclosures list outstanding debts, including student loans, auto payments and credit card balances.

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The increase has drawn growing scrutiny, including from Trump, who questioned Omar’s finances in a series of Truth Social posts. 

On Monday, Trump said the Department of Justice would investigate her reported wealth, which he claimed totaled $44 million. “Time will tell all,” Trump wrote.

Separately, Minnesota has been at the center of multiple high-profile fraud cases in recent years, underscoring broader concerns about financial oversight in the state.

Minnesota Republican drops governor bid, blasts party over federal ‘retribution’ after Pretti killing

A Minneapolis lawyer who represented the immigration agent who fatally shot Renee Good is ending his Republican bid for Minnesota governor after a second protester was killed by federal authorities.

“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Chris Madel said in a message posted on social media Monday, as he announced he was dropping his outsider bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. “Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”

Madel’s move comes two days after a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who was filming an immigration operation.

TRUMP DEPLOYS BORDER CZAR TO MINNESOTA IN WAKE OF SECOND FATAL SHOOTING

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials initially said Pretti, who was legally armed with a handgun, was threatening agents, who they say fired in self-defense. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the actions of Pretti as “domestic terrorism” and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called him a “would-be assassin.”

But videos of the shooting seem to indicate Pretti was brandishing a cell phone rather than his handgun, with federal agents appearing to secure Pretti’s weapon moments before he was shot multiple times.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM ‘DESTROYING OR ALTERING’ EVIDENCE IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING

The fatal shooting has further inflamed political tensions in Minnesota and across the country over aggressive efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Border Patrol and other federal agencies to enforce President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“I support the originally stated goals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge in locating and deporting the worst of the worst from our state,” Madel said.

But he argued, “Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats. United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong.”

While he praised a number of Trump’s achievements so far in the president’s second term in the White House, Madel claimed that the massive deployment of a couple of thousand federal immigration agents to Minnesota “has been an unmitigated disaster.”

“At the end of the day, I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them I believe I did what was right. And I am doing that today,” he added.

No Republican has won an election for governor in blue-leaning Minnesota in 20 years, and Madel claimed, “The reality is that the national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota. It is a simple fact.”

Madel grabbed national attention earlier this month when he legally represented Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who fatally shot Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was protesting an anti-immigration operation in Minneapolis.

Good’s death, which instantly escalated already simmering tensions, came a couple of days after Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ended his re-election bid for a third term as governor amid a deepening federal investigation into the sweeping fraud scandal in Minnesota’s social services programs.

INSIDE THE RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ

More than 90 people — most from Minnesota’s large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scope of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion.

Prosecutors said some of the dozens that have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

Madel, a veteran trial lawyer, spotlighted his high-profile fraud cases as he campaigned for governor.

He was one of nearly a dozen candidates vying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, in a field that also includes Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and state Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the Minnesota House’s Fraud Prevention and Oversight Committee.

And in his announcement that he was dropping his bid, he took aim at some of his primary rivals, charging that “our government has failed us. Republicans and Democrats.”

KLOBUCHAR TAKES FIRST FORMAL STEPS TOWARDS LAUNCHING MINNESOTA GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN

A longshot when he entered the race late last year, Madel seemed to be picking up support.

“Since I announced my candidacy on Dec. 1, I am extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. I started as a relative unknown candidate and emerged as a leading Republican contender in less than two months,” he touted in his Monday announcement.

But while Madel had in recent years represented Alpha News, a conservative Minnesota news outlet, and had written opinion pieces for them, he faced a challenge in winning over MAGA supporters and some conservatives in the state, due in part to his past political contributions to Democrats, including to Walz.

Last week, longtime Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar made her first move ahead of likely launching a 2026 race for governor in her home state, as she filed preliminary paperwork with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.

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But Madel said Klobuchar’s move was not a factor in his decision to end his bid for governor.

“I’m not withdrawing my candidacy because of any existing or new entrant in the race, and that includes Sen. Klobuchar,” he emphasized.

DHS says illegal immigrant sought amid Pretti shooting had violent domestic history

The illegal immigrant being sought during the operation that resulted in the death of a 37-year-old U.S. citizen had a violent rap sheet that included domestic assault involving intentional bodily harm, according to federal officials.

Jose Huerta-Chuma ultimately escaped capture during the chaos, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino told reporters Sunday, as he condemned characterizations of his agents as “Gestapo” — referencing the Nazi Geheime Staatspolizei — in the media and in public discourse.

Huerta-Chuma, reportedly an Ecuadorian national, also had other convictions, including driving without a valid license and disorderly conduct, when agents attempted to take him into custody at a Minneapolis donut shop.

TRUMP CONFIRMS FEDERAL REVIEW OF MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING THAT KILLED NURSE: ‘REVIEWING EVERYTHING’

“This individual walks the streets today because of those choices made by politicians and those, perhaps, weaker-minded constituents that chose to follow directions of those politicians,” Bovino said.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) later criticized Bovino in a statement, claiming “federal statements have repeatedly included inaccurate information about Minnesota custody and criminal records.”

“The DOC reviewed available records to determine whether [Huerta-Chuma] had any connection to Minnesota state prison custody,” the department said in a statement.

ICE SAYS VIOLENT MOB HELPED CRIMINAL ESCAPE AND LEFT ICE AGENT PERMANENTLY MAIMED

The Minnesota DOC went on to say Huerta-Chuma had “never been” in state prison custody and that his state court records did not show any “felony commitments.”

The agency said Huerta-Chuma’s name matched misdemeanor traffic offenses and said he had been in federal custody in a local Minnesota jail in 2018.

“Any decisions regarding release from federal custody at that time would have been made by federal authorities. DOC has no information explaining why this individual was released,” the agency said, while also claiming it works with ICE to facilitate custody transfers in conflict with public statements by federal officials.

FREY, KLOBUCHAR CALL FOR ICE TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS FOLLOWING DEADLY CBP SHOOTING IN CITY

During the ultimately unsuccessful capture of Huerta-Chuma, Pretti approached agents in the midst of their mission while armed with a 9 mm handgun and was killed when agents later fired “defensive shots,” according to Bovino.

In the aftermath of Pretti’s death, further chaos erupted, and a federal agent was critically injured when an agitator bit off the end of his finger, according to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said a “log of evidence” is being created for potential future prosecutions of agents involved in the situation.

In response to the Minnesota DOC’s accounting of Huerta-Chuma’s record, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that his criminal history indeed includes the crimes mentioned by Bovino and others.

“On January 24, in Minneapolis Border Patrol were obstructed by agitators as they tried to arrest Jose Huerta-Chuma, whose criminal history includes domestic assault to intentionally inflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license,” the spokesperson said.

“This criminal illegal alien remains at large. We are calling on the public to report any sighting of this violent criminal illegal alien to 866-DHS-2-ICE.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on the Minnesota DOC’s statements.

Trump deploys border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota as ICE operations face violent chaos

President Donald Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, the president announced on Monday.

Trump said Homan will report “directly to me” and will help lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Justice Department and Congress are also investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Trump says.

“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets,” he continued.

GO BIG, THEN GO SMART: TRUMP, ICE AND THE LAW. HOW TO SKIP THE LEFT’S PR TRAP

“Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” he added.

Homan’s deployment comes amid widespread unrest in the Twin Cities over the deployment of ICE. Two anti-ICE protesters have been killed by federal agents this month, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

Pretti’s killing over the weekend is under fresh investigation.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM ‘DESTROYING OR ALTERING’ EVIDENCE IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not clarify whether Homan’s deployment means Trump has lost confidence with existing ICE leadership in Minnesota.

“Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital.

The Trump administration blames organized agitators for harassing ICE operations, which are targeting criminal illegal aliens.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump has lost confidence with the federal law enforcement leaders already on the ground in Minnesota.

Federal officials say violent unrest in Minneapolis directly derailed one immigration arrest last week, leaving an ICE agent permanently maimed after a protester bit off part of his finger.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino said during a press conference on Sunday that Border Patrol and ICE agents were forced to abandon a targeted operation after crowds interfered, assaulted officers and turned the scene chaotic.

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As a result, he said, the suspect escaped custody. He blamed this solely on the decisions made by politicians, activists and those who confronted law enforcement officials.

“This individual is still roaming the streets today,” Bovino said. “This individual walks the streets today because of those choices made by politicians and those, perhaps, weaker-minded constituents that chose to follow directions of those politicians. Sad state of affairs.”

GOP senators launch task force to crack down on fraud tied to Minnesota scandal

FIRST ON FOX: A cohort of Senate Republicans plans to launch a targeted task force aimed at tackling fraudsters in the wake of the Minnesota fraud scandal.

Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced that they would form a task force dedicated to rooting out fraudsters abusing federal funding.

The seven-member panel will be led by HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., who has cranked up efforts in recent weeks to crack down on fraud, particularly in Minnesota.

KEY SENATOR WON’T FUND DHS AS ICE, FEDERAL AGENTS ENTER HIS STATE

“Our tax dollars are supposed to help American families, not line the pockets of fraudsters,” Cassidy said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “HELP Committee Republicans are committed to rooting out this fraud and ensuring Americans’ tax dollars are used responsibly.”

The long-running, nearly six-year-long investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota gained new attention and traction among Republicans and the White House earlier this year.

The scandal, in which federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as daycare centers, food programs and health clinics, has dominated the bandwidth of many in the GOP and spurred the Trump administration’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into Minneapolis.

The majority of those charged, so far, in the ongoing investigation are part of Minnesota’s Somali population. The Trump administration has taken steps outside the deploying of ICE agents to target Somalis in the area, too, including ending protected status for the population and launching investigations into whether the fraudulent activity is connected to al-Shabab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia.

SENATE DEMS REVOLT AGAINST DHS FUNDING BILL AMID MINNEAPOLIS CHAOS, HIKING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK

The task force will delineate its focus into three prongs: health, education and labor and pensions.

Those three subgroups will be led by Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who will lead the health-focused section, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Jon Husted, who will lead the education-focused group, and R-Ohio, Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., who will chair the labor-and-pensions-focused section.

But the task force’s announcement comes at a precarious time, as lawmakers hurtle toward what could be another government shutdown fueled in large part by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) actions in Minnesota. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS REBEL AGAINST THEIR OWN LEADERSHIP OVER DHS FUNDING PACKAGE, INCREASING SHUTDOWN ODDS

That situation comes after Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signaled their plan to reject the DHS funding bill following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday by a border patrol agent. Cassidy, along with a handful of other congressional Republicans, demanded that the incident receive a fulsome and thorough investigation. 

Still, Cassidy’s effort is not the first time he’s forayed into the Minnesota fraud scandal.

Earlier this month, the lawmaker led the entire Senate GOP in a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, demanding that he provide receipts on several issues, and warned that failure to do so could lead to several streams of federal money flowing to Minnesota drying up.

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That effort was centered on several requests, like how often the state conducted on-site monitoring, inspections or investigative visits to childcare facilities that received federal dollars.

Senate Republicans specifically wanted examples of any information uncovered on fake children, false attendance records, over-billing, ineligible enrollments, and shell or fake business structures, among other demands from Walz.

Trump confirms federal review of Minneapolis shooting that killed nurse: ‘Reviewing everything’

President Trump confirmed his administration is “reviewing everything” in the wake of the Minneapolis shooting that left 37-year-old nurse Alex J. Pretti dead.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Trump stopped short of confirming whether the federal agent who fired the fatal shots on Jan. 24 acted appropriately.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the outlet as questions mounted over the incident and the broader immigration operation in the city.

Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent while filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street.

GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS

The officer’s operation was targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.

Federal officials initially claimed Pretti approached agents with a 9 mm handgun and resisted disarmament.

Bystander video and eyewitness accounts circulating online raised questions about that version of events and whether Pretti was threatening officers when he was shot.

TIM WALZ COMPARES MINNESOTA ICE ACTIONS TO HOLOCAUST AND ANNE FRANK: ‘HIDING IN THEIR HOUSES’

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said, adding that Pretti carried “a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines… That doesn’t play good either.”

Trump also tied the federal presence in Minnesota to what he described as a sprawling welfare-fraud scandal in the state, arguing that immigration enforcement was necessary to address broader abuses.

“It’s the biggest fraud anyone has seen,” the president said.

The fraud claims in the state have been a central part of the administration’s need to ramp up federal operations there.

VANCE CALLS MINNEAPOLIS UNREST ‘ENGINEERED CHAOS’ AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING

The Minneapolis shooting of Pretti also marked the second death that happened in a confrontation between federal immigration officers and civilians in the city.

Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7 by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a different operation.

That incident fueled protests and spotlighted the role of ICE in domestic law enforcement actions.

“At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” Trump said without offering a time frame for when agents might depart.

“We’ll leave a different group of people there for the financial fraud,” he told the outlet.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has also stressed cooperation among law enforcement as essential.

“Nobody, including President Trump, wants to see people get shot or hurt,” Leavitt said, urging officials to work more closely with the administration in addressing undocumented individuals living in the country illegally.

Dems silent on Minnesota church disruption after pressing Bondi to use FACE Act on pro-lifers

The Democratic headliners of a letter sent just months ago that demanded Attorney General Pam Bondi “fully enforce” the FACE Act against pro-life demonstrators were silent when asked by Fox News Digital if the same emphasis should be put toward prosecuting the Minnesota church disruptors.

With Bondi now bringing FACE Act charges against the agitators disrupting a Baptist service Jan. 18, those Democrats who signed the letter may face a narrowing decision, publicly back the prosecutions under the FACE Act, break with the same attorney general they pressured in 2025, or remain silent as Republicans demand prosecutions in this aspect.

In March 2025, Democratic Reps. Sean Casten and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Jerrold Nadler of New York headlined the 75-member letter demanding that Bondi “fully enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and ensure women and health care providers are not threatened, harassed, or abused while trying to enter reproductive health care facilities.”

Fox News Digital reached out by email and phone to the offices of Casten, Schakowsky and Nadler to ask whether they would similarly agree to have the law — originally spearheaded by “liberal lion” Ted Kennedy — be used in earnest as well against left-wing agitators who disrupted a Twin Cities church service in mid-January. 

MAGISTRATE JUDGE REJECTS CHARGES AGAINST DON LEMON IN CONNECTION WITH ANTI-ICE CHURCH PROTEST

One of the reverends at the Baptist church was reportedly connected with local Immigration and Customs Enforcemet (ICE) operations.

The three lawmakers did not respond when asked whether Bondi should similarly pursue federal FACE Act charges against the agitators or whether they had any further comment on the heckling of the minister by people like former CNN host Don Lemon.

Fox News Digital also reached out to as many of the other 72 Democrats listed as possible — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. — but received a response from only one. 

A representative for Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., acknowledged the inquiry and said they were “looking into” the matter.

MINNESOTA PASTOR CONDEMNS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO INTERRUPTED SERVICE: ‘SHAMEFUL AND UNLAWFUL’

In their letter, the Democrats wrote that limiting the Department of Justice from enforcing “bipartisan law will put at risk the well-being and security of patients, providers, and others at reproductive health care facilities.”

“Individuals have the right to freedom of speech and the right to peacefully gather to protest, ” they wrote.  “However, individuals do not have the right to use physical force or intimidation as these acts pose a threat to those attempting to access a range of health care services — from abortion care to breast cancer screenings, prenatal care, reproductive counseling, and in-vitro fertilization.”

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The FACE Act has provisions for both abortion clinics and public exercise of First Amendment rights to freedom of religion.

Nonetheless, Bondi’s office has already pursued charges against alleged disruptors, including Chauntyll Louisa Allen — a St. Paul, Minnesota,school board member — and Nekima Levy Armstrong, who authorities said played a “key role” in organizing the “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul.”

“Listen loud and clear, we do not tolerate attacks on places of worship,” Bondi tweeted after the incident. 

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Meet the longtime biz partner of Ilhan Omar’s husband as questions swirl over her skyrocketing net worth

A longtime Democratic operative who worked for top party figures before jumping into private ventures with the now-husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Tim Mynett, is back in the spotlight as swindling allegations resurface and Congress investigates Omar’s skyrocketing net worth via her husband’s companies, according to her financial disclosures.

William Hailer and Mynett, who met working for now-Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison when he was in Congress, were both political operatives before they turned to venture capitalism and the wine industry. Hailer was a senior advisor to former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and also has an extensive history working for Ellison, who was the DNC co-chair. Between consulting fees and reimbursements, Hailer raked in over $250,000 advising the DNC and Ellison, according to FEC filings.

The pair also co-founded the political consulting firm E Street Group, which raked in almost $3 million alone from Omar’s House campaigns, and then went on to co-found Rose Lake Capital LLC, a venture capital firm, and eStCru, a wine company, among a web of other ventures they have since embarked on. 

Through these business ventures, which include wine and cannabis, Hailer left a trail of fraud and swindling allegations tied to eSt Ventures, which was co-founded by Hailer and Mynett, and the subsequently formed Badlands Fund, which was created to control another investment fund that the pair also created called Badlands Ventures.

TRUMP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO ILHAN OMAR’S WELATH, SAYS IT SHOULD START ‘NOW’ 

“On information and belief, Defendants formed Badlands Ventures in order to defraud Plaintiffs by soliciting them for purported investments in Dakota and 605 with the present intention of stealing and/or misappropriating most of the money,” the cannabis lawsuit, which listed Hailer and Badlands Ventures as the defendant, states.

The lawsuit claims that the pair solicited donations from local South Dakota cannabis growers who had been raising money among their friends and family. Hailer allegedly promised them that he already had big investors lined up, and would bring in multi-millions more if the local growers forked over around $3.5 million. 

However, the additional investment never appeared to materialize despite months of promises that the funds were not far away, according to court complaints. While the money has since been returned, according to public reporting, the defendants claimed that after signing a proposed settlement they were still struggling to get the full amount that they gave to Hailer back. Hailer returned $1.86 million in August 2022 and another $500,000 in October 2023, while the final settlement in 2024 got the remaining $1.2 million back to the investors that was still missing. 

The cannabis investors’ attorney eventually said the dispute was settled “amicably.” Meanwhile, local media questioned how Hailer was able to pay the money back considering discovery documents in the case reportedly showed he had less than $750 combined across various business and personal bank accounts.   

Following the cannabis incident, Hailer and Mynett faced further allegations of fraud related to their California wine business, eStCru, which saw its valuation jump from between just $15,000 to $50,000 in 2023 to between $1 million and $5 million in 2024. 

The winery first appeared on Omar’s disclosure reports after she and Mynett tied the knot in 2020 and the massive valuation jump comes just five years after Hailer complained that eStCru could barely keep the lights on during the COVID-19 pandemic. “ESTCRU LLC like many wineries is living invoice to invoice, sale to sale, to stay afloat given the economic conditions of the industry,” Hailer told the Minnesota Reformer in response to more fraud allegations against him and his wine business with Mynett.

OMAR RIPPED FOR ‘INCITING VIOLENCE’ AFTER MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING: ‘MAKE SURE THESE PEOPLE PAY’

The situation involved similar promises left unkept aimed at drawing in investors. The business deal involved a D.C.-area restaurant owner who was recommended to invest in Hailer and Mynett’s wine venture by his attorney, Faisal Gill, who also happened to be a former Democratic operative as well, per the Rhode Island Current. “I trusted Tim,” Gill told the outlet. “If it was not for Tim, the deal would have never happened.”

The restaurant owner, Naeem Mohd, wired $300,000 to Hailer and Mynett, but alleged he never received the 200% returns in 18 months that the pair promised him, arguing the pair knew that the promises were false. Hailer and Mynett also allegedly promised 10% monthly interest payments for as long as the restaurant owner did not see returns, but once again the investor argued that the pair knew this would never come to fruition.

Mohd also alleged in court filings that Hailer and Mynette pressured him into signing an agreement preventing him from filing further suit against them.

In response to the accusations of fraud, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital for the pair’s venture capital firm responded that “Any disputes with these parties have been settled with cases dismissed with prejudice (can not be brought again).” 

Hailer and Mynett’s Rose Lake Capital, the other firm that saw a massive valuation jump on Omar’s financial filings – listed as being worth between $1 and $1,000 in 2023 and then skyrocketing to between $5 million and $25 million the following year – was recently embroiled in misrepresentation allegations as well. 

Amid the scrutiny into the firm’s massive jump in valuation shown in Congresswoman Omar’s most recent financial filings, the firm co-founded by Hailer and Mynett came under fire for scrubbing their firm’s website of various high-profile individuals that it claimed were its advisors. Among those listed were former members of Congress and other well-connected persons, including former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

MINNESOTA’S WELFARE FRAUD DISASTER EXPOSES A NATIONAL SYSTEM DESIGNED TO FAIL

Baucus said he only had a single phone call with Hailer back in 2022 regarding a proposed deal pertaining to storage units but then “nothing came of it,” according to The New York Post.

“He stopped writing his emails about the investment – about how well he’s doing, all that stuff. You can read between the lines – it sounded a little bit fishy,” he said, adding that no one ever cleared it with him to use his name as an “advisor” on Rose Lake’s website.

A spokesperson for Rose Lake defended the move, noting it was in response to “hate-filled messages” and accused Baucus of making “false” statements to the media. 

“All names were removed from the website when hate-filled messages were being sent to various members listed by individuals who have read stories in various publications,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Ambassador Baucus should review any contracts he executed with the company before saying false and potentially libelous statements to the press.” 

Hailer and Rose Lake Capital were also embroiled in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case that included allegations Hailer was encouraged to leave the country so he wouldn’t have to testify and would disrupt the sale. When asked during the bankruptcy hearing why he didn’t get on the flight to Dubai in order to skip the hearing, Hailer said, “Sometimes it’s better to do the right than the easy thing.”

Currently, both congressional and federal investigators are looking into the massive valuation jump by Hailer and Mynett’s venture capital fund and wine business. The scrutiny follows backlash from the 2019 – 2020 election cycle, during which Omar was caught funneling millions in campaign cash to a firm Mynett co-founded with Hailer called the E Street Group. 

The expenses covered a range of services, including cable advertising, “digital consulting,” video production and editing. Omar claimed that her relationship with her husband began long after her campaign started working with his firm. The payments, while not illegal, generated backlash for Omar and her husband.

In 2021, Republicans in Congress introduced the Oversight for Members And Relatives Act or “OMAR Act,” aimed at closing the loophole in federal anti-nepotism law that permitted Omar to funnel her campaign cash to Mynett and his firm.

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“For too long, lawmakers of both political parties have engaged in the ethically dubious practice of pocketing campaign funds by ‘hiring’ their spouses and laundering the money as campaign related expenses,” Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., said at the time. 

The fresh scrutiny into Omar and her husband comes amid rampant fraud uncovered in Minnesota under the purview of Democratic Party leaders that estimates say could amount to as much as $9 billion in missing funds, and questions on whether Omar or anyone else benefited from it. The fraud has involved various social services and welfare schemes, including Medicare and childcare funding, and many of those convicted have been part of Minnesota’s ballooning Somali population.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hailer, Mynett, and Omar’ office.

Senate Dems revolt against DHS funding bill amid Minneapolis chaos, hiking government shutdown risk

Senate Democrats are ready to break a fragile truce that would avert a partial government shutdown after a Minneapolis man was fatally shot by a border patrol agent Saturday. 

Congressional Democrats were already leery of backing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considering the agency’s presence in Minnesota and beyond, but the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation has shattered what little unity they had on the bill. 

Now, Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plan to vote against the legislation, which is included in a broader funding package along with five other spending bills. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS REBEL AGAINST THEIR OWN LEADERSHIP OVER DHS FUNDING PACKAGE, INCREASING SHUTDOWN ODDS

Schumer, in a statement Saturday, said Democrats tried to get “commonsense reforms” in the DHS funding bill but charged that “because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

 “I will vote no,” Schumer said. “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”

Schumer’s play call serves as a blow to Senate Republicans, who worked with their colleagues across the aisle to find compromises in the DHS bill, in particular. It also comes as the Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government is rapidly approaching. Further complicating matters is the arctic storm ripping across the country, which has already forced the upper chamber to cancel votes on Monday. 

A senior Senate aide told Fox News Digital Senate Democrats had been saying for weeks they weren’t interested in shutting down the government again and had praised the bipartisan nature of the government funding process up until Saturday.

“These bills were negotiated with Dems — they agreed to what’s in them,” the aide said.

HOUSE JAMS SENATE BY ATTACHING REPEAL OF JACK SMITH PROVISION TO $1.2T FUNDING PACKAGE

The agency would be fully funded in the current proposal with several restrictions and reporting requirements that, if not met, would act as triggers to turn off certain cash flows. 

Ripping the bill from the current six-bill funding package would cause a domino effect of headaches in Congress, given that any changes to the package would have to go through the House.

The lower chamber is gone until Feb. 2, making the likelihood of a partial shutdown much higher. 

Before the shooting, a handful of Senate Democrats had already made their opposition to the legislation known, including senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Kaine notably crossed the aisle last year to join a cohort of Senate Democratic caucus members to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

He was not the only member of that group of eight to voice opposition. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., both came out against the DHS bill’s inclusion in the broader package on Saturday. 

“My personal guiding principle has always been ‘agree where you can and fight where you must,’” Rosen said in a statement. “And I believe this is a time when we must fight back.”

House lawmakers are on a week-long recess after passing their latest spending package in two chunks Thursday, one standalone vote on DHS funding and another wrapping together funding legislation for the departments of War, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

SENATE ADVANCES $174B PACKAGE AS MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING FUELS DHS FUNDING FIGHT

A provision was added to the legislation before it passed the House that would combine the bills into one large package for the Senate to consider at once. It was then expected to be paired with other bills the Senate has not yet considered but which passed the House this month.

Changing that ahead of the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline would mean House lawmakers must return to Washington early to go through multiple procedural hurdles and another vote on the legislation, something House GOP leaders are ruling out, at least for now.

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“We passed all 12 bills over to the Senate, and they still have six in their possession that they need to pass to the president,” a House GOP leadership source told Fox News Digital Saturday evening, referring to the lower chamber completing its portion of Congress’ annual appropriations process. “We have no plan to come back next week.”

Even if House leaders changed their plans, the impending snowstorm would mean lawmakers may not return until Tuesday at the earliest. That would put final passage sometime Wednesday or Thursday, virtually guaranteeing Congress does not complete consideration of the bills until after the Friday deadline.

House GOP leaders would also likely be grappling with attendance issues if they did order a return, with various lawmakers on planned trips and over a dozen busy campaigning for higher office.

A partial government shutdown would mean only agencies that Congress has not yet funded would have to reduce or cease functions. In this case, payment to active duty troops, air traffic controllers and border patrol agents could all be affected.

Trump takes aim at Senate ‘blue slip’ tradition as GOP resists change

President Donald Trump is waging war against a century-old tradition in the Senate that both Republicans and Democrats don’t want to touch.

Trump has ebbed and flowed in his disdain for the blue slip tradition in the upper chamber, taking out his frustrations on Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Republicans who have drawn a firm line in the sand for their support of the practice.

Much of his anger stemmed from the blue slip’s role in derailing a pair of his hand-picked U.S. attorney nominees — Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan — last year.

SENATE DEMOCRATS REBEL AGAINST THEIR OWN LEADERSHIP OVER DHS FUNDING PACKAGE, INCREASING SHUTDOWN ODDS

Trump sounded off on the practice late last year in the Oval Office, arguing that the GOP should “get rid of blue slips, because, as a Republican President, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with US attorneys or having to do with judges.”

But the practice, which has been around since World War I, is likely not going anywhere, given that it’s been a valuable tool for minority parties to block nominees.

The tradition allows for home state senators to weigh in on judicial nominees, giving them a say on who does and doesn’t move forward. Returning a blue slip is the equivalent of giving a thumbs up to the nominees moving forward, while keeping the slip effectively blocks the process.

While the tradition was used to block both Halligan and Habba, both of whom served as Trump’s attorneys while in between stints in the White House, Republicans have still been successful in confirming several of the president’s judicial picks.

REPUBLICANS NARROWLY REJECT EFFORTS TO HANDCUFF TRUMP’S WAR POWERS IN VENEZUELA

Grassley noted in a post on X that “nearly 1/5 of the 417 nominees who were confirmed this [year] went” through his committee.

“I’m ready to process even more in the new [year] just need materials from WH and DOJ so [committee] can continue contributing to Senate’s historic nominations progress,” he said.

While Senate Democrats tried to block as many of Trump’s nominees throughout last year, Republicans changed the rules to ram more through. That resulted in the upper chamber confirming 36 U.S. attorneys and 26 federal judges.

Four of those were from Democratic senators with blue slips in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Michigan and Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s usage of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has faced legal challenges.

Both of Minnesota’s Democratic senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who aren’t quiet critics of Trump and his administration, returned their blue slips for U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen last year.

“Putting aside political differences, he is respected across the board in Minnesota, and so I thought he would be a good U.S. attorney,” Smith said.

And notably, the blue slip tradition was used by Republicans to ensure that Trump would have 15 judges to appoint once he took office, blocking several of former President Joe Biden’s nominees in the process. There is also not a single blue slip holding up a judicial nominee currently making its way through the process.

HOUSE JAMS SENATE BY ATTACHING REPEAL OF JACK SMITH PROVISION TO $1.2T FUNDING PACKAGE

There have also been several Senate Republicans who have pushed back against Trump’s demand to decimate the tradition, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Kennedy, R-La., both members of the Judiciary Committee.

They argued that the entire point of the blue slip was to ensure that individual senators got to have a say on the matter, and that the “issue cut both ways.”

“I would urge my colleagues to respectfully tell the president that we would do damage to this institution, and we would do damage to the power of individual senators if we were to rescind the blue slip,” Tillis said on the Senate floor last year.

Like many instances of Trump’s desire to take a sledgehammer to Senate tradition or procedure, Republicans largely aren’t biting.

And neither are members of Senate GOP leadership, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who last year argued that there was more of an “intense feeling about preserving the blue slip maybe even than there is the filibuster.”

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Thune noted that he and fellow South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds both took advantage of the blue slip process to ensure that their state had a Republican-appointed district court judge for the first time since former President Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

“There were two vacancies,” Thune said. “They wanted one Dem, we gave them a Dem, we got a Republican person into that position in South Dakota. So it’s — there are examples of how that process, I think, works to our advantage, and that’s what most senators hang on to when it comes to a discussion about the blue slip.”

BROADCAST BIAS: Networks side with church invaders, call attack mostly ‘peaceful’

When the radical left feels the urgent need to protest, and to make it saucy enough to go viral, it doesn’t want to observe any rules, or even laws. On Sunday, Jan. 18, a “racial justice” contingent invaded the evangelical Cities Church in Minnesota. Organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong brought at least 20 other people who interrupted the sermon, yelling things like “Justice for Renee Good” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” The church emptied, and the activists closed down their operation about 45 minutes later, once police arrived.

The broadcast networks didn’t want to acknowledge this story, perceiving that it might be a little too extreme for the average American. This was a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act — and everyone can guess how energetically ABC, CBS and NBC would respond with outrage to protesters marching into an abortion clinic and interrupting anyone’s “right to choose.” We could guess the same for Trump supporters walking into a mosque during their weekly worship. 

But through mid-week, through early Wednesday morning, these networks could only muster two minutes and 43 seconds among them on their morning and evening newscasts. Most of that was NBC, because reporter Maggie Vespa offered Armstrong a platform to proclaim, “They need to be investigating Jonathan Ross for the killing of Renee Good, not trying to weaponize their power against nonviolent, peaceful demonstrators.” Armstrong wasn’t asked how disrupting (and basically ending) a church service is “peaceful.”

ABC gave this invasive protest 51 seconds overall in those first three news cycles, and CBS News – the supposedly Trump-friendly network under new boss Bari Weiss – gave it only 14 seconds to that point.

ANTI-ICE PROTESTER WILLIAM KELLY DARES PAM BONDI TO ARREST HIM AFTER MINNESOTA CHURCH DISRUPTION

Overall, the church protest, when it had to be mentioned, was merged into the constant template of “growing protests” and “rising tensions” — in other words, we’re going to play this story as long as we can. The deadly riots after George Floyd’s death were grist for the networks to tout a “racial reckoning” — as if the violent deaths would lead to a positive outcome for the “right side of history.”

ABC’s Matt Rivers squeezed the church protest into a narrative of outrage at Trump, “as tensions rise in Minneapolis, as anti-ICE protesters disrupted this Sunday service demonstrating against one of the pastors who is also the director of an ICE field office, though it’s unclear if he was even there.”

The “public” broadcasters didn’t love this story. “PBS News Hour” offered 14 seconds in passing on Monday and nothing on Tuesday, while they did offer an eight-minute segment with the online headline, “Migrant families allege children held by ICE face unsafe and unsanitary conditions.” On Wednesday, Jan. 21, PBS anchor Geoff Bennett did ask St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her if the protest was appropriate in a “sacred space.” She said no, but rhetorically added schools and hospitals into the “sacred space” category.

ICE REJECTS ‘FALSE NARRATIVE’ ABOUT FAMILY SEPARATION, ASSERTS MINNESOTA CHURCH RIOTERS WERE NOT PEACEFUL

You couldn’t find a story on the church protest (other than one AP dispatch) in multiple searches of NPR’s website. But on Thursday morning, NPR did broadcast three and a half minutes pushing a focus group: “Some voters who backed Trump say ICE is going ‘too far.'”

The Justice Department’s indictment of Armstrong on Thursday offered an exhibit in how much the networks cared about violating the FACE Act. ABC skipped it, pushing instead some fake news about a 5-year-old boy who was “detained by ICE” because his father was an illegal alien. CBS gave it 20 seconds in passing.

NBC’s 27 seconds were mostly Vespa offering the defense lawyer for Armstrong: “Well, now the DOJ announcing arrests of three protesters with charges, including conspiracy to deprive rights. A lawyer for one of them telling NBC News they were arrested doing a peaceful, non-violent protest in a church.” 

It’s not “peaceful” to force an end to a church service with incessant yelling.

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Overall, the church protest, when it had to be mentioned, was merged into the constant template of “growing protests” and “rising tensions” — in other words, we’re going to play this story as long as we can. 

ABC and CBS also skipped it on Friday morning. Vespa’s outrage in her two Friday morning reports came from the left, after Team Trump digitally altered a photo of Armstrong’s arrest to make it look like she was crying after her arrest. In a brief burst at the end of each report, Vespa quoted a White House X account run by Kaelan Dorr announcing, “Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue.”

None of the fragments of stories this church invasion received mentioned the on-scene cheerleading of former CNN host Don Lemon, who came along for the radical ride. Lemon later embarrassed himself by getting into a debate with people on the street, where he insisted misdemeanors weren’t “criminal acts.” The media elites know that Lemon isn’t anyone’s best representative of the leftist viewpoint.

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At this late date, the click-baiters like Lemon aren’t practicing journalism now, even if they protest that they are. What they’re doing is making anti-Trump content for clicks, and if that means egging on a church invasion, then they are proud to be part of “the struggle.”

The media elites think objections to the church invasion are a “Republicans Pounce” story, a right-wing narrative, and that’s exactly why they are prone to avoid spending any serious time on it.  

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Minnesota ‘on the clock’ as HHS threatens penalties over childcare fraud scandal

Minnesota’s alleged fraud scandal continues with the blue state now “on the clock” to comply with federal officials.

“We asked Minnesota for evidence that child care funding goes to legitimate providers,” Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), wrote in an X post video alongside HHS Assistant Secretary Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Alex Adams. “Six weeks later, they still have not sent this information.”

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP FROM CUTTING CHILDCARE FUNDS TO DEMOCRATIC STATES OVER FRAUD CONCERNS

The ACF sent a “preliminary notice of non-compliance” to the state, according to O’Neill.

“We are no longer asking, we are demanding,” Adams said. “Since Minnesota refused to comply with their federally approved state plan and regulations, ACF has sent a preliminary notice of non-compliance to Minnesota.”

O’Neill said the state has 60 days to send the desired documents to federal officials.

“We put Minnesota on the clock,” O’Neill said in the video. “If their response is insufficient, we’ll pursue full penalties under the law against the state.”

O’Neill said HHS sends approximately $20 billion to the state annually.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ AS MORE BLUE STATES FACE SCRUTINY

“Every dollar that the state diverts into fraud is stolen from the intended Minnesota recipient. The status quo was to trust the state to stop fraud. That clearly did not work,” O’Neill said.

On Dec. 30, O’Neill and Adams announced a childcare payment freeze to the state after an alleged fraud scandal was exposed, involving daycare centers in the state.

“Intrepid journalists have made shocking, incredible allegations of extensive fraud in Minnesota’s childcare programs,” O’Neill said in a Dec. 30 video posted on X. “We believe the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake daycares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the past decade.” 

Last month, O’Neill demanded Gov. Tim Walz turn over a comprehensive audit of certain daycare centers, including attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections.

MINNESOTA’S WELFARE FRAUD DISASTER EXPOSES A NATIONAL SYSTEM DESIGNED TO FAIL

A spokesperson for Walz’s office told Fox News in December that they felt the investigation was politically motivated.

“Fraud is a serious issue. But this is a transparent attempt to politicize the issue to hurt Minnesotans and defund government programs that help people,” the spokesperson said.

Adams said the ACF has a team on the ground in the state conducting an “on-site monitoring visit,” where the department plans to attempt to gather records the state has not provided.

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“We will continue to pursue every credible lead, and we will restore integrity to programs that serve America’s most vulnerable people,” O’Neill concluded.

The state Department of Health office of the inspector general did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

House Oversight Committee widens investigation into alleged Minnesota fraud

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is expanding a probe into social services fraud allegedly perpetrated in Minnesota, according to a press release.

“The Committee requests a staff-level briefing, as well as all underlying documents and communications related to any review the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) conducted regarding the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and allegations of fraud in the State of Minnesota,” Comer noted in a letter to Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randall.

The state’s Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report earlier this month about a performance audit regarding Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Administration grants during a period spanning July 1, 2022, through 2024.

TRUMP CITES MINNESOTA FRAUD CASES TO WARN AGAINST MIGRATION FROM ‘FAILED’ SOCIETIES

The report’s conclusion asserts, “The Behavioral Health Administration did not comply with most requirements we tested and did not have adequate internal controls over grant funds.” 

Comer also issued a letter calling for temporary Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services Shireen Gandhi to deliver “testimony at an in-person transcribed interview on January 30, 2026.”

‘YOU HAVE FAILED’: COMER CLASHES WITH DEMOCRAT AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE SPARKS SHOUTING MATCH

“If you do not voluntarily appear for the interview, we will be forced to evaluate the use of the compulsory process,” the letter warns.

The committee’s investigation was launched last month before independent journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley released a viral report about alleged widespread fraud in the state.

JOURNALIST WHO EXPOSED ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD SAYS NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA ARE HIS NEXT TARGETS

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“Criminals in Minnesota have stolen an estimated $9 billion in taxpayer funds intended to feed children, support autistic children, house low-income and disabled Americans and provide healthcare to vulnerable Medicaid recipients,” the congressional committee’s press release noted.

Blocking ICE cooperation fueled Minnesota unrest, officials warn as Virginia reverses course

States that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement push ICE onto the streets to search for subjects, fueling avoidable agitator unrest that is absent in places where local authorities have a working relationship with DHS, several states’ officials told Fox News Digital.

Their comments follow a New York Times analysis showing that “at-large” ICE arrests — operations conducted in communities rather than jails — have surged most sharply in states that bar local authorities from honoring immigration detainers or working with federal agents.

The analysis pointed to California, Illinois and New York as the most common sites for at-large arrests, citing laws there blocking local authorities from cooperating or handing over prisoners to federal immigration enforcement.

The states with a 90%-or-more share of at-large arrests included Illinois, New York, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Alaska, according to the paper.

TOM EMMER BLASTS MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS AFTER ‘TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE’ CHURCH DISRUPTION

“If Dems would just honor the detainers, ICE would pick up illegal aliens from jail, where they’re already in custody,” Republican strategist Tim Murtaugh remarked on the findings.

“But because they don’t, ICE has to find the illegal aliens in the community after they’re released,” he said. “ICE didn’t bring the chaos. The chaos is what brought ICE.”

Prosecutors and lawmakers in states not mentioned in the analysis agreed; there is no smoke in their jurisdictions because there is no fire.

DHS BRASS BLASTS CHICAGO MAYOR FOR BLAMING ICE CHIEF AS CRIME RISES AFTER ‘SAFEST SUMMER’ CLAIM

“Law enforcement works best when it works together, focusing on the mission and not limited by what it says on our badges,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital.

“As threats grow, zealous collaboration amongst federal, state and local law enforcement is necessary to keep American families safe.”

Coleman said cooperation with ICE in Kentucky is helping keep the peace, and avoid the kinds of violent scenes seen in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

MINNESOTA POLICE CHIEFS ALLEGE SOME ICE AGENTS RACIALLY PROFILED US CITIZENS, INCLUDING OFF-DUTY OFFICERS

The dynamic, he said, “could work in other states too.”

And it has, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who said the Yellowhammer State proudly “stands united with ICE and all federal law enforcement partners.”

“[We share a] mission to remove dangerous criminal aliens, child predators, and human traffickers from our streets,” Marshall said, contrasting the lack of such unrest in Montgomery and Mobile versus Minneapolis.

BORDER PATROL CHIEF URGES ILLINOIS TO FOLLOW LOUISIANA BLUEPRINT AS THREATS AGAINST AGENTS SURGE

“You have to be truly sick and deranged to call yourself a leader while actively welcoming such predators into your cities and states. That will never happen in Alabama.”

Virginia, however, may become the test case for what happens after a tidal shift in such policy, current and former officials there said.

Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin entered Virginia into a 287(g) agreement, which authorizes cooperation between state law enforcement and ICE to identify and transfer criminal illegal immigrants from custody. He was backed by GOP state officials, including former Attorney General Jason Miyares, who welcomed ICE into the Old Dominion and collaborated as often as possible.

Miyares said in a statement that Virginia’s “streets have become less safe with the stroke of a pen,” after Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger reversed Youngkin’s action this month after taking office.

“This is a disaster for the public safety of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, there will be Virginians who will be robbed, raped and murdered as a result of this anti-public safety executive order. No one should be surprised.”

Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore agreed, telling Fox News Digital he can “absolutely” envision scenes of unrest at home in the future, now that DHS is no longer welcome.

DHS DEMANDS MN LEADERS HONOR ICE DETAINERS, ALLEGES HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN RELEASED UNDER WALZ

“With local law enforcement [cooperation], DHS can identify and just send a small team in,” Kilgore said, adding that dynamic happened a lot under Youngkin when ICE was allowed to surgically pursue MS-13 gangsters due to cooperation from Richmond.

“I would encourage [Spanberger] to rethink this because it’s making Virginians less safe – period.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment. Previously, she said that “state and local law enforcement should not be required to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws.”

Leaders in states where chaos has erupted have defended their stance, with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison citing a “federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota [that] must stop.”

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta called ICE-involved unrest in Los Angeles part of a pattern of attacks on immigrant communities by President Donald Trump and said the immigration enforcement operations are “not about safety and justice” but “quotas” for DHS.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul previously referred to federal agents as “occupiers” who “often violently question residents” without warrants or probable cause.

Bernie Sanders agrees fraud in Minnesota should be ‘severely punished’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., condemned the alleged fraud uncovered in Minnesota during a Wednesday appearance on Theo Von’s podcast.

Von spoke with the senator about independent journalist Nick Shirley’s viral investigative videos exposing the alleged massive fraud in Minnesota. 

“You have this young man who’s been going around, Nick Shirley, who’s like kind of going door-to-door, like trick-or-treating about fraud, kind of, right? And figuring it out,” Von said. “That almost is like — it’s like, why get people to pay taxes? Who even cares about paying taxes anymore if we’re just going to let them slip out of the bottom?”

CONVICTED MINNESOTA FRAUDSTER ALLEGES WALZ, ELLISON WERE AWARE OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD

“But, the answer is fraud is disgusting — and especially to steal money from hungry kids,” Sanders replied. “If you have a program to feed hungry kids, you steal that money, that is probably as bad as it gets, and I think way back in the early [20]20s under Biden, they started an investigation.”

“Those people should be severely punished,” Sanders continued. “I don’t care if you’re Somali, if you’re green, you’re blue, whatever you are.”

“Right, I’m using the term Somali fraud because that’s kind of the term people are using,” Von said. 

“But anyhow, that should be punished. That’s disgusting behavior,” Sanders said. “But, you know, understand — and I’m sure you do — fraud is not just in a child nutrition program in Minnesota.”

Minnesota has been at the center of national controversy as investigators at both the local and federal levels have uncovered numerous alleged fraud schemes of businesses, posing as daycare centers, food programs, health clinics and more, accused of robbing the state of up to $9 billion. In these cases, the investigators say fraudsters either inflated the number of the people they allegedly helped or fabricated their services altogether — all while receiving government dollars. 

WALZ’S MINNESOTA MESS COULD SPARK THE TOUGHEST FRAUD REFORMS IN DECADES

Sanders noted that trillions are being spent on the American military, where he says many major contractors are caught engaging in fraud.

“We are spending a trillion dollars a year on the military, OK? There is not one major defense contractor that has not been charged with fraud… you know, providing fraud to the United States government. Their CEOs make huge amounts of compensation,” Sanders said. “They cannot even undergo an independent audit.”

“So they don’t even know what they own,” Sanders added. “I mean, it is so massive. But nobody, nobody, nobody, Republican, Democrat, independent, nobody doubts that there’s massive fraud. There’s fraud all over the place, unfortunately, in this country, and we’ve got to do our best to eliminate that.”

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Trump calls for investigation into Ilhan Omar’s wealth, says it should start ‘NOW’

President Donald Trump on Thursday called for an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., alleging in a social media post that the lawmaker is worth “over $30 Million Dollars” and questioning how such wealth could have been accumulated while serving in public office.

“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is worth over $30 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote. “There is no way such wealth could have been accumulated, legally, while being paid the salary of a politician.”

Trump said Omar “should be investigated for Financial and Political Crimes, and that investigation should start, NOW!”

TRUMP RIPS ‘CROOKED’ ILHAN OMAR AS HOUSE RAMPS UP INVESTIGATION INTO EXPLODING NET WORTH

The comments were posted to Truth Social Thursday, and the post quickly drew thousands of reactions on the platform.

Omar, a Somalia-born Democrat who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, is the subject of a House Oversight Committee investigation into her and husband Tim Mynett’s finances, though no formal charges have been filed against her.

ILHAN OMAR VOWS ‘NOT TO GIVE ICE A SINGLE CENT’ IN HEATED CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FIGHT

Her net worth allegedly skyrocketed nearly $30 million in just one year, according to financial disclosures released last week.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has previously said his panel is seeking answers on Omar and Mynett through congressional oversight.

Omar is expected to attend an “ICE Out of Minnesota” protest Friday in Minneapolis.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s office for comment.

Klobuchar takes first steps towards Minnesota governor bid in race to replace embattled Walz

Longtime Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday made her first move ahead of likely launching a 2026 race for governor in her home state of Minnesota.

The senator’s first steps came a couple of weeks after the stunning announcement by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to end his re-election bid amid political fallout from the blue-leaning state’s massive fraud scandal.

Klobuchar, who less than 15 months ago was handily re-elected to a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate, filed preliminary paperwork with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.

“This is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run. The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days,” a source close to Klobuchar told Fox News Digital.

WALZ ON GOP CALLS FOR HIM TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘OVER MY DEAD BODY’

Since Walz’s announcement earlier this month that he was scrapping his bid for an unprecedented third term as Minnesota governor, Klobuchar had been receiving calls urging her to run, Democratic sources confirmed.

And sources also confirmed that the senator met with Walz, who was the Democratic Party’s 2024 vice presidential nominee, on the eve of his announcement to discuss his decision to drop his re-election effort.

Klobuchar didn’t weigh in on her future political plans in the hours after Walz’ blockbuster news. But she said the governor “made the difficult decision to focus on his job and the challenges facing our state rather than campaigning and running for re-election.”

A day later, Klobuchar emphasized to CNN, “I love my job, I love my state, and I’m seriously considering it.”

The senator has won all four of her Senate elections by healthy margins, including a nearly 16-point re-election in 2024.

But Klobuchar, who is currently number three in Senate Democratic leadership, faces hurdles to rise higher in party leadership in the chamber.

FRAUD FALLOUT FORCES WALZ TO ABANDON GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION BID

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is the top Democrat in the upper chamber and isn’t expected to leave his post.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, the number two Democrat in the chamber, is retiring from Congress, leaving an opening to fill in the leadership pecking order. But Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii is the expected heir apparent for that position.

Before serving in the Senate, Klobuchar was elected twice as county attorney in Hennepin County, Minnesota’s most populous. 

She also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination. And a trip by Klobuchar last summer to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state of New Hampshire sparked speculation that Klobuchar may be mulling another White House run in 2028.

Walz launched his re-election bid in September, but the past couple of months had been facing a barrage of incoming political fire from President Donald Trump and Republicans, and some Democrats, over the large-scale theft, under his watch as governor, in a state that has long prided itself on good governance.

More than 90 people — most from Minnesota’s large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scope of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion.

INSIDE THE RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ

Prosecutors said some of the dozens that have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

“This is on my watch, I am accountable for this and, more importantly, I am the one that will fix it,” Walz told reporters last month, as he took responsibility for the scandal.

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But the fraud scandal was eclipsed earlier this month by the fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman and mother of three, who was protesting an ICE operation.

Video of the shooting went viral, sparking protests and a national debate over the agency’s efforts to carry out Trump’s push for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants. And with a massive deployment this month of ICE agents to Minnesota, it’s made the state ground zero in the political battle over the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Convicted Minnesota fraudster alleges Walz, Ellison were aware of widespread fraud

A Minnesota woman convicted in one of the state’s largest fraud schemes alleged in a jailhouse interview that Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud well before federal prosecutors stepped in.

Aimee Bock, the former head of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, spoke to Fox News from Sherburne County Jail in Minnesota, claiming state officials continued approving and paying claims even after concerns were raised about potential fraud.

Bock alleged the state approved program sponsors and was responsible for monitoring claims, but officials repeatedly failed to investigate or stop suspicious companies after she flagged them. 

“I honestly believe Keith Ellison and Gov. Walz need to be held accountable. There needs to be an investigation done. If they weren’t aware, that’s concerning,” she told Fox News.

GREGG JARRETT: IF WALZ IS CHARGED IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL, HIS BEST DEFENSE IS INCOMPETENCE

“I have to believe that the governor’s office and Keith Ellison’s office were aware of this. They’ve said they were involved in helping the FBI. They’ve said they were made aware, but apparently I’m scary, so they couldn’t do anything,” Bock added. 

In response, a spokesperson for Ellison’s office said Bock lacked credibility, pointing out her federal prison sentence. “She is a liar, fraudster, and manipulator of the highest order who has never acknowledged or accepted her guilt. Now, she’s on a media tour to deflect her guilt onto others instead of finally taking responsibility for the fraud scheme she ran,” the spokesperson said.

“Federal and state investigators meticulously examined the crimes Bock and her accomplices committed,” the Ellison spokesperson continued. “Bock alone is responsible for her own actions, which was proven in court beyond a shadow of a doubt, and her claim about Attorney General Ellison is a lie without a shred of evidence behind it.”

Federal prosecutors have said the scheme involved more than $250 million in stolen taxpayer funds intended to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic, with sham restaurants set up to falsely claim reimbursements.

MINNESOTA AG BLASTS HOUSE HEARING ON FRAUD SCANDAL IN HIS STATE : ‘A LOT OF BULLS— FROM REPUBLICANS’

Walz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The House Oversight Committee said on Jan. 7 that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent. 

Sixty-four defendants have already been convicted. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said the DOJ has issued more than 1,750 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and conducted more than 1,000 witness interviews in what officials describe as a sweeping federal probe.

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Comer said federal prosecutors estimate at least $9 billion has been stolen across multiple fraud schemes in Minnesota.

“The breadth and depth of this fraud is breathtaking. And I fear it is just the tip of the iceberg. Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes,” he said. “They failed Minnesotans and all Americans, handing millions of taxpayers’ money to fraudsters.”

Journalist who exposed alleged Minnesota fraud says Newsom, California are his next targets

Independent journalist Nick Shirley says exposing government fraud has made him a target, and now he’s turning his focus to California.

Shirley gained national attention after releasing videos he says expose fraud in Minnesota. He testified before House lawmakers earlier this week during a hearing investigating the state’s fraud scandals. 

Shirley said the work has been dangerous, but California is his next target.

“Fraud will be exposed in California. It’ll be exposed all across the United States, because we’re learning that there’s so much fraud that’s taking place,” Shirley said Wednesday on “The Ingraham Angle.”

TRUMP DEMANDS CALIFORNIA HAND OVER RECIPIENT LISTS AS $10B PAUSED AMID FRAUD CONCERNS

“Whether it be through daycares or these projects like that high-speed light rail that Newsom’s been trying to build for years,” he added.

PAM BONDI DISPATCHES FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO MINNESOTA FOLLOWING SOMALI FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

Critics have accused Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state of California of allowing fraud to prosper under a lack of oversight. 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli launched a task force in April to investigate corruption in the state, with a focus on programs for the homeless.

“California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone,” Essayli said on “Fox & Friends” in early January.

Shirley warned that investigating government fraud has become increasingly dangerous, with the backlash extending beyond online harassment into real-world threats. He said he was forced to hire 24-hour security after his home address was doxxed, and his family members received calls from the public.

NOEM PUTS NEWSOM ON NOTICE, VOWS CALIFORNIA PROBE AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD BUST

“I was just exposing fraud, and then you see all this hatred come at you for doing a giant public service for America,” Shirley said.

“The majority of Americans are super happy, I’d say 99%, but then you have that crazy 1% that just gets super upset because they’re the fraudsters,” he added.

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Shirley’s reporting in Minnesota helped bring national scrutiny to the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, though Minnesota officials have disputed aspects of the fraud claims, saying previous inspections of childcare centers did not uncover widespread wrongdoing.

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back on what he argued are politically motivated allegations, writing in a post on X, “This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along.”

House oversight probe puts Minnesota elections under scrutiny over noncitizen voting concerns

EXCLUSIVE: House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil sent oversight letters to election officials in 10 states, including Minnesota, seeking details on voter roll maintenance and safeguards against noncitizen voting.

The move puts Minnesota’s election system under renewed scrutiny as Republicans press states for compliance with federal election law.

Steil, R-Wis., wrote to both red and blue states — including Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas, California, Ohio and Florida, noting that his committee has broad oversight of federal elections — and that public confidence in such elections is a “compelling interest of Congress and the states.”

“When illegal aliens are found on state voter rolls, it significantly undermines Americans’ confidence in our elections,” Steil told Fox News Digital Thursday.

TEXAS SENDS VOTER ROLLS TO DOJ TO LOOK FOR INELIGIBLE REGISTRATIONS

“I will continue to seek answers on how frequently this happens and what states are doing to address the issue. American elections are for American citizens only.”

Such concerns made national headlines when illegal immigrant Ian Roberts, serving as a high-paid school superintendent in Iowa, was found to be allegedly fraudulently registered to vote in Maryland.

Steil said at the time that Annapolis, Maryland, failed to provide him complete answers on the matter and left serious concerns unresolved, including whether Roberts ever received a live ballot or if the Old Line State drew the line with new protocols to verify citizenship.

In his letter to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, Steil wrote that his panel will be conducting oversight to review the state office’s compliance with federal election laws and potential legislative reforms.

OREGON ELECTION SYSTEM FACES SCRUTINY AS STATE MOVES TO ADDRESS 800,000 INACTIVE VOTERS: ‘ASTOUNDING’

Steil noted Simon previously said that Minnesota’s elections are “free, fair and secure,” but that the state’s “driver’s license for all” initiative may belie that.

He gave Simon, and the other secretaries of state, a two-week deadline to provide a series of datapoints to aid in the congressional investigation, including how often the states conduct general voter list maintenance, sources used to identify ineligible voter registrants, whether they utilize free data provided to states by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services known as the “systematic alien verification for entitlements database,” and whether they have data-sharing agreements with other states as an added safeguard.

The chairman’s letters also demanded information on how states remove deceased and relocated registrants to prevent fraud, and how they notify ineligible registrants already on the rolls.

A carbon copy of each letter was also sent to House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle, D-N.Y.

Minnesota’s voting system also came under scrutiny over its “vouching” policy, which allows a registered voter to “vouch” for up to eight other people seeking same-day registration.

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An official in Simon’s office told Fox News Digital that the vouching policy has been intact for “more than 50 years.”

Simon deputy communications director Cassondra Knudson said at the time that several measures are in place to help keep the election system in Minnesota secure under the vouching policy, and that “vouching can only be used to provide proof of a potential voter’s residence in the precinct.”

Vance tells Minneapolis to ‘stop fighting’ ICE as White House doubles down on crackdown

Vice President JD Vance stops in Minnesota Thursday, which is ground zero in the heated battle over President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.

A White House official told Fox News that Vance will use his trip to “highlight the Administration’s commitment to restoring law and order in Minneapolis.”

The official said that Vance will meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during his stop, “to reinforce the White House’s unwavering support for federal immigration officials.” He also plans to hold a roundtable discussion with community leaders and hold a news conference.

Apparently not on Vance’s itinerary: any olive branches to top Democratic officials and protesters who are fiercely opposed to the aggressive efforts by the massive deployment to Minnesota of masked ICE agents, who have raided homes as they search people for proof of citizenship.

FBI DIRECTOR PATEL WARNS ELECTED OFFICIALS ‘NO ONE’ IS EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL SCRUTINY AMID MINNESOTA INVESTIGATION

“I’m headed from here to Minneapolis, where we’re going to talk with some of our ICE agents, talk with local officials about how we can turn down the chaos. And my simple piece of advice to them is going to be, look, if you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country. It’s not that hard,” Vance said a couple of hours ahead of his arrival in Minnesota.

But he added, “Certainly one of my goals is to calm the tensions, to talk to people, to try to understand what we can do better.”

The vice president’s trip to Minneapolis comes two weeks after the fatal shooting by an ICE agent of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman and mother of three, went viral, sparking protests and a national debate over the agency’s efforts to carry out Trump’s push for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants.

And Richard Carlbom, chair of the Minnesota Democrats, argued that “JD Vance isn’t serious about accountability. He’s here to do Trump’s dirty work: defending disgusting ICE actions like the tragic killing of Renee Good and using Minnesota as a political backdrop.”

MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE DOJ SUBPOENAS, CLAIM WEAPONIZATION OF JUSTICE SYSTEM

The White House says Vance “will point out how Minneapolis’s sanctuary city policies have degraded public safety and endangered ICE officers. He will also celebrate the essential work ICE agents have done to take dangerous, criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.”

Good’s death and the continued ICE raids have fueled demonstrations, with protesters facing off against federal immigration officers.

Hours ahead of Vance’s arrival, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said at a news conference in Minneapolis that “our agents are being violently assaulted by agitators and anarchists.”

Hundreds of military police troops are on alert for deployment to Minneapolis after Trump last week warned that if Minnesota’s political leaders don’t stop what he argued were “professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other prominent Democrats, including state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, were served Tuesday with subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice over an alleged conspiracy to obstruct or impede federal law enforcement during ongoing ICE operations.

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“Minnesota will not be intimidated into silence and neither will I,” Walz fired back in a statement.

And he charged, “Families are scared. Kids are afraid to go to school. Small businesses are hurting. A mother is dead, and the people responsible have yet to be held accountable. That’s where the energy of the federal government should be directed: toward restoring trust, accountability, and real law and order, not political retaliation.”

Earlier Thursday, before his arrival in Minnesota, Vance asked, “What is wrong with Minneapolis authorities? They so hate the idea of enforcing immigration laws that they’re telling their people not to get sex offenders out of their community. It’s crazy. And it’s why we see so much chaos in Minneapolis, but not elsewhere.”

Vance has been one of the most vocal members of the Trump administration defending ICE and targeting the backlash over the federal crackdown, and his trip to Minnesota is another sign that the White House isn’t backing down on its mass deportation push.

After Good’s death, Vance charged that Democrats were “rallying the mob against legitimate law enforcement operations.”

VOTERS SHARPLY DIVIDED OVER ICE SHOOTING IN MINNESOTA: POLL

At a White House news briefing earlier this month, the vice president claimed that Good had been “brainwashed” and argued that the Minneapolis mother of three had links to a “broader, left-wing network.”

Vance’s trip comes amid flagging support for ICE in a slew of recent national polls.

The most recent survey, a New York Times/Siena Poll conducted Jan. 12–17 and released on Thursday, showed a slight majority approving of the job Trump is doing on the southern border with Mexico and his administration’s deportation efforts.

But the president’s overall approval on the issue of immigration was underwater in the poll, with nearly two-thirds disapproving of how ICE was handling their job and 61% saying ICE’s tactics had gone too far.

Vance’s stop in Minnesota also comes amid the sprawling federal fraud investigation that has led to charges against dozens of people in the state’s large Somali-American community. The fraud scandal has put Democratic leaders in the state on the defensive and convinced Walz to end his bid this year for re-election to a third term as governor.

The Trump administration is keen to highlight the scandal, and Vance is expected during this stop to spotlight the recent creation of a new assistant attorney general position “to crack down on widescale fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded programs as seen in Minnesota and several other states.”

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The vice president was previously in Minnesota in September, in the wake of a mass shooting at a Minneapolis-area Catholic Church.

Vance traveled earlier on Thursday in his home state of Ohio, stopping by an industrial shipping facility in Toledo to deliver remarks about the administration’s efforts to lower prices.

Expert flips script on narrative that ICE is preventing MN patients from getting medical care

A former immigration judge and policy expert said sanctuary policies, not law enforcement, are preventing treatments in response to reports that Minnesota doctors are concerned their patients are not receiving medical care because of ICE operations in the state.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on a news conference held by Democratic lawmakers and various doctors who claimed that patients are missing out on critical care due to fear of ICE. 

Medical providers speaking during the press conference claimed that out of fear, both illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens are skipping out on care, including diabetes treatments, checkups and even giving birth, according to the outlet.

In response, the outlet reported that Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that “ICE does not conduct enforcement at hospitals — period.”

MINNESOTA SOCIALISTS TELL WORKERS TO FAKE SICK LEAVE FOR ANTI-ICE PROTESTS

Andrew Arthur, who is a law and policy fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, further backed this up, telling Fox News Digital that, “There have not been any reports that ICE has gone into any medical facility, any hospital, any clinic, any doctor’s office.”

“Now if the concern is that when somebody is traveling to one of these facilities, there also aren’t any ICE roadblocks being set up to check everybody for their status, so it’s not like they’re going to be looking for them in that context,” he went on.

Arthur said the only reason the surge of federal law enforcement officers to Minnesota occurred in the first place was because of the state’s unwillingness to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

THREE VENEZUELAN ILLEGALS ARRESTED AFTER ICE OFFICER ‘AMBUSHED AND ATTACKED’ DURING TRAFFIC STOP: NOEM

“This situation has been created by the sanctuary policies,” he said. “What ICE is doing is targeted operations against specific individuals that they are looking for in Minnesota. And, of course, that is because … [the state] issued an opinion that said that local county jails in Minnesota could not hold people based on immigration detainers. Consequently, they’ve been turned out in the street, and ICE has to go into the communities to find them.”

“The only reason that ICE is in communities looking for people and potentially finding people that they’re not looking for, collateral arrests, is the fact that Minnesota has these sanctuary policies,” he explained. “If Minnesota, if Hennepin County, if Minneapolis and St. Paul simply allowed ICE to take custody of criminal aliens from their jails, ICE wouldn’t be running this operation there at all.”

Arthur said that “really what this comes down to is not the enforcement, it’s the status of the people who are there.”

FEDERAL JUDGE RESTRICTS ICE AGENTS AMID ONGOING MINNEAPOLIS AREA PROTESTS

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“Framing it as a public health issue is almost too cute by half, because the issue isn’t whether somebody can get medical treatment or not, the issue is whether somebody has lawful status in the United States or they don’t,” he said. “The only reason that any individual would be afraid of ICE enforcement is because they don’t have status in the United States, either because they entered illegally or because they overstayed non-immigrant visas or because they committed some crime that would make them removable from the United States.”

Somali-born activist praises Trump’s stark warning at Davos speech: ‘Priority No. 1’

After President Donald Trump took to the World Economic Forum stage in Davos to declare that Western civilization must defend itself from an existential attack, Somali-born activist and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali said “Trump is right.”

Trump shocked other politicians and leaders gathered in Switzerland Tuesday night by declaring, “The West cannot mass import foreign cultures.”

“The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass import foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own,” he said. “We’re taking people from Somalia, and Somalia is a failed [state]. It’s not a nation, got no government, got no police, got no military, got no nothing.

“The explosion of prosperity, in conclusion, and progress that built the West did not come from our tax cuts. It ultimately came from our very special culture. This is the precious inheritance that America and Europe have in common. 

TRUMP CITES MINNESOTA FRAUD CASES TO WARN AGAINST MIGRATION FROM ‘FAILED’ SOCIETIES

“We share it, we share it. But we have to keep it strong. We have to become stronger, more successful and more prosperous than ever. We have to defend that culture and rediscover the spirit that lifted the West from the depths of the Dark Ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.”

In response, Hirsi Ali told Fox News Digital Trump is communicating a critical truth.

“I don’t think it’s an important thing. I think it is the most important thing,” she said. “Trump is right … and I can’t think of a better and more powerful platform than that of the president of the United States to say, ‘Hey, you guys wake up.’”

As a child in Somalia, Hirsi Ali was subjected to a severe form of female genital mutilation. Later in life, she fled the country to escape a forced marriage and served as a Dutch lawmaker. She is now based in the U.S. and uses her platform to advocate for women’s rights, critique Islam and voice support for Western greatness. 

“I think every American and every European should know that what the president is trying to say is that what made America and Europe great is there’s this unique culture. If we don’t understand that culture and if we do not defend it, we risk losing it,” she said.

“The economy is very important. Military is very important. All these other aspects of government are extremely important, but more important than all of that is our value system. And it’s our heritage. And it is our national identity.”

Regarding Trump’s critique of the Somali immigrant population’s involvement in the massive Minnesota fraud scheme, Hirsi Ali said, “I wholeheartedly agree with the president.”

TRUMP SAYS MEDIA FOCUSES TOO MUCH ON MINNESOTA ICE COVERAGE, NOT ENOUGH ON CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS

“The president is right when he says Somalia hasn’t even made it into a nation,” she said. “Every attempt at building something, making something out of Somalia has always failed because of the clan code, because of Islam, because of Marxism. We’ve had all the bad ideologies, and, as Somalis, we’ve run away with them.”

Further, Hirsi Ali said the situation in Minnesota exposes a “subversive agenda in the United States to transform it and to Islamize it using American institutions and the American vocabulary of civil rights.”

“You see that the Somalis exploit and extract the benefit system,” she said. “They tell everyone, ‘If you expose this, investigate it, object to it, stop it, you’re racist. You’re an Islamophobe. You are a bigot.

“If we keep on doing what we are doing, getting huge numbers of people from the Third World to come and establish themselves in the United States and European countries and depend on welfare benefits, that is to take and take and never contribute, then we’re setting ourselves up not only for failure. We’re committing a cultural and national and political suicide.”

To combat this, Hirsi Ali said European nations must follow the Trump administration’s example in sealing their borders. She said the U.S. and Europe must also address their broad welfare systems, which she said are “just too expensive.”

In Minnesota, Hirsi Ali advocated a hardline stance on the Somali immigrant population to assimilate into American culture.

TRUMP UNLOADS ON BIDEN POLICIES FROM DAVOS, WARNS EUROPE TO DROP THE OLD PLAYBOOK

“We’ve got to force them either to assimilate, or we’ve got to give them that choice and say, ‘If you don’t want to assimilate into American society, then you will be denaturalized,’” she said.

“This isn’t just like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s another day in politics. It’s existential.'”

Hirsi Ali called Trump’s Davos speech a “breakthrough” in getting European leaders to understand that defending Western civilization must be “priority No. 1.”

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“JD Vance put it this way: [It’s] not what are we fighting against, but what are we fighting for? What are we fighting to preserve? If you can’t answer that question, then I think you are lost. And the European leaders are lost. And I think he’s trying to help them find their way,” she said.

Todd Blanche warns Americans ‘should be worried’ about Minnesota protests after church disruption

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche warned that Americans “should be worried” amid escalating protests in Minnesota, including the disruption of a St. Paul church service, saying these demonstrations are “being encouraged by local officials.” 

The Justice Department served grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota offices, including the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office and the Minneapolis mayor’s office, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

“We said for the past two weeks that the federal government and this administration would not tolerate local officials doing what they were doing and have been doing,” Blanche said Tuesday on “The Ingraham Angle.”

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Renee Good, 37, was shot and killed Jan. 7 during a confrontation with an ICE agent. Activists have since used her death to protest immigration enforcement in Minnesota, with some demonstrations leading to confrontations with federal agents.

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Blanche said federal authorities warned local leaders before launching the probe. He said local leaders are accused of encouraging rioters and impeding federal officers.

“You didn’t see the governor or the mayor reacting in horror at what happened in that church,” Blanche said.

“You saw a feigned claim by them that they wanted peaceful protest, and that should worry every single American.”

RENEE GOOD’S FORMER FATHER-IN-LAW SAYS DEADLY SHOOTING WAS RESULT OF ‘BAD CHOICES’

Gov. Tim Walz responded to a headline about the subpoenas in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.

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“The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her,” Walz said.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the agent’s actions, saying Good attempted to “weaponize her vehicle” against officers. Minnesota state officials have disputed that account and announced a separate investigation, independent of the federal probe.

Trump cites Minnesota fraud cases to warn against migration from ‘failed’ societies

President Donald Trump took a shot at Somalia and claimed that the investigations Minnesota faces into alleged fraud schemes are a reminder that the West cannot allow mass migration from “failed” societies. 

Minnesota has encountered heightened scrutiny in recent months as the state faces investigations into multiple alleged fraud schemes plaguing the state’s social services system. 

The majority of those charged are part of Minnesota’s Somali population, and Trump unveiled plans in November 2025 to end the temporary protected status for Somali migrants in Minnesota that offers protections against deportation.

“The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass import foreign cultures, which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own,” Trump said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I mean, we’re taking people from Somalia, and Somalia is a failed — it’s not a nation — got no government, got no police … got no nothing.”

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Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced in December 2025 that his agency was launching an investigation evaluating whether Minnesota’s funds were potentially diverted to al-Shabab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia. 

Lawmakers also initiated probes into Minnesota’s alleged “Feeding Our Future” $250 million fraud scheme that allegedly targeted a children’s nutrition program the Department of Agriculture funded and that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least 77 people have been charged in that scheme, which took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements.

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Likewise, another alleged fraud scheme in the state stems from the Housing Stability Services Program, which allegedly offered Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services in an attempt to help those with disabilities, mental illnesses and substance-use disorders receive housing.

The Justice Department so far has charged less than a dozen people for allegedly defrauding the program that runs through Minnesota’s Medicaid service, but more charges are expected.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, has claimed that he believes that reports indicating the fraud could total over $9 billion are exaggerated and “sensationalized,” but he’s also promised to address the issue. 

“I am accountable for this, and more importantly, I am the one that will fix it,” Walz told reporters in December 2025.