Fact Check: Did Ilhan Omar flee to Morocco after federal agents raided her home?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the controversy surrounding a federal raid at Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington, DC, a claim began circulating on social media platforms that the Democrat fled to Morocco after the raid. The claim has sparked mockery and speculation, with many calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Ilhan Omar fled the US for Morocco

Following the federal raid at the Somali-born congresswoman’s Washington home, as part of an alleged criminal investigation, a claim appeared online that Omar escaped to Morocco, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.

A viral post on X (formerly Twitter) shared the claim stating, “We're hearing [sic] more reports that Ilhan Omar fled her home 30 minutes before the raid and has gone underground, hiding, fearing arrest. Working on two or three [sic] articles right now but will have this report out asap.”

Another post alleged, “We're hearing from sources at the State Department that Ilhan Omar has fled the United States for Morocco, which does not have a bilateral extradition treaty with the US.”

A post making the claim had garnered more than 600,000 views at the time of writing, with many appearing to believe the claim, while a few others remained skeptical and questioned its authenticity.

Fact Check: No credible evidence to support the claim

However, the claim is false, as there is no evidence of the Minnesota Democrat fleeing to Morocco following the raid at her home.

There are no official statements, announcements, or press releases from the State Department that support the claim.

If the claim were true, prominent news media outlets would have widely reported it, making headlines, but a search on Google and other search engines like Bing yielded no such news reports.

Moreover, Omar posted about the investigation on her social media handles, describing her intention to fight back, proving that she hasn't fled the country.

Ilhan Omar condemns the raid at her home

Following the raid, in a statement on her Congressional web page, Omar's office called the raid "an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies." 

Hours later, Omar took to her X account, writing, “I'm ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.”