As the secrets of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) allegedly criminal past continue to unravel, one fact in the case hasn’t received as much attention as it might deserve: a Christian minister officiated her second marriage, the one to her alleged brother.
Omar maintains that she and her first husband, Ahmed Hirsi, were both married and divorced in their “faith tradition.”
The U.S House even changed its rules earlier this year so she could wear her hijab, a symbol of her faith, on the House floor.
But when it came to marrying Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, her alleged brother, in 2009, she went to a Christian minister.
Her 2009 marriage certificate from Hennepin County shows that she and Elmi were married by Wilecia Harris, who’s listed as a “minister.”
(Photo credit: David Steinberg, Twitter)
The ceremony took place at 479 Prairie Center Drive in Eden Prairie, a conventional county government building.
The Daily Mail claims to have tracked down Harris at her Burnsville home, but she declined to answer any questions, telling reporters “through the glass” that she wouldn’t comment on the ceremony.
“If they had gone to an imam he would have almost certainly have known if they were related,” a local Somali leader told The Daily Mail in regards to Omar’s marriage to Elmi.
According to Powerline’s Scott Johnson, reporters had previously found Harris at work in 2016 to ask her about her role in the marriage, but she “claimed to know nothing.”
Johnson concludes his recent article by suggesting that “the silence of Wilecia Harris is yet another clue that something here is deeply amiss.”
Omar’s office continues to claim that she’s being subjected to “conspiracy theories and false accusations about her personal life.”
“Ilhan has shared more than most public officials ever do about the details of her personal life—even when it is personally painful,” spokesman Jeremy Slevin recently told The Star Tribune. “Whether by colluding with right-wing outlets to go after Muslim elected officials or hounding family members, legitimate media outlets have a responsibility not to fan the flames of hate. Continuing to do so is not only demeaning to Ilhan, but to her entire family.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
