Ilhan Omar says rising threats have put her life in danger — and she’s now considering added federal protection. “When a president talks like this, people act on it.”
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota revealed this week that the volume and severity of death threats against her have reached unprecedented levels, forcing her to seriously consider requesting enhanced federal protection for the first time since entering Congress in 2019.
The Somali-American lawmaker, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, told reporters that the threats have escalated dramatically in recent months, particularly following heated political rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and his supporters during the 2024 campaign and its aftermath.
Omar pointed directly to Trump’s repeated public attacks on her, including recent statements where he accused her of being anti-American, disloyal to the United States, and sympathetic to terrorist organizations—claims she has consistently and vehemently denied as baseless and racist.
“When a president talks like this, people act on it,” Omar said in an interview with MSNBC, referencing Trump’s continued use of inflammatory language even after leaving office and during his 2024 presidential campaign, which culminated in his victory last month.
Sources close to the congresswoman say her office has documented hundreds of credible threats since January 2024, including detailed messages describing how individuals plan to harm or kill her, often referencing Trump’s criticisms or far-right conspiracy theories about her background and faith.
The FBI has already opened multiple investigations into specific threats, and Capitol Police have increased patrols around her residence and district offices in Minneapolis, but Omar indicated that these measures may no longer be sufficient given the current climate.
She emphasized that many threats now come with personal information—her home address, her children’s schools, and real-time tracking of her public appearances—suggesting a level of coordination and intent that has alarmed both her staff and law enforcement officials monitoring the cases.
This is not the first time Omar has faced intense backlash. In 2019, a Trump tweet telling her and three other progressive congresswomen of color to “go back” to their countries sparked widespread condemnation and resulted in a surge of death threats that required temporary Secret Service protection.
However, Omar noted that the current wave feels different—more sustained, more graphic, and increasingly tied to online networks that amplify calls for violence against political figures perceived as enemies of the MAGA movement.
Her concerns come amid a broader spike in threats against members of Congress from both parties. The Capitol Police reported investigating over 9,000 threats against lawmakers in 2024 alone—a sharp increase from previous years—many linked to polarized rhetoric surrounding immigration, Israel-Palestine, and election integrity.
Yet experts say female lawmakers, particularly women of color and Muslim women, face disproportionately high levels of violent and sexualized threats. A 2023 study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that Omar receives more abusive mentions online than almost any other federal official.
In response to questions about whether she blames Trump directly for the danger, Omar was careful but firm: “Words have consequences. When the most powerful person in the world—or someone who wants to be again—repeatedly lies about you, it puts a target on your back.”
Trump’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Omar’s latest statements, though the former president has previously dismissed criticism of his rhetoric by claiming he is merely pointing out what he sees as disloyalty or anti-American sentiment from certain Democratic figures.
Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers have downplayed the significance of threats against Omar, with a few suggesting she exaggerates the danger for political gain or that her own controversial statements about Israel and U.S. foreign policy contribute to public anger toward her.
Omar rejected that framing entirely, arguing that no elected official should have to accept death threats as part of the job and that attempts to equate policy criticism with justification for violence represent a dangerous erosion of democratic norms.
Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, expressed solidarity with Omar and called for stronger measures to protect all members of Congress regardless of party, warning that political violence and intimidation threaten the foundation of American democracy.
The decision to accept federal protection is not taken lightly. Such measures can be costly, logistically complex, and often create a sense of isolation for lawmakers who pride themselves on accessibility and regular interaction with constituents in their districts.
For Omar, who fled civil war in Somalia as a child and spent four years in a refugee camp before coming to the United States, the prospect of living under constant armed guard carries particular emotional weight, reminding her of the insecurity she thought she had left behind.
Nevertheless, those close to her say the congresswoman is leaning toward accepting enhanced protection, especially after a series of incidents in recent weeks that included suspicious individuals appearing near her home and family members being followed in public.
Omar has continued to appear at public events and speak out on issues like Gaza, immigration reform, and workers’ rights, refusing to be silenced despite the risks. “If we allow threats to dictate what we say or how we vote, then democracy has already lost,” she declared.
Her case has reignited national debate about the consequences of extreme political rhetoric, the responsibility of public figures to moderate their language, and whether the United States is capable of protecting its elected officials in an increasingly volatile environment.
As the 119th Congress prepares to convene next month with a new Republican majority in both chambers and Donald Trump set to return to the White House, the question of how to ensure the physical safety of lawmakers—especially those who remain lightning rods for controversy—has taken on renewed urgency.
For Ilhan Omar, the threats are no longer abstract or distant. They are daily, specific, and terrifying. And for the first time in her congressional career, she is seriously contemplating the kind of security once reserved for presidents and vice presidents.
The congresswoman closed her most recent public statement on the matter with a warning: “This isn’t just about me. When any lawmaker has to fear for their life because of their identity or their votes, all of us are less safe—and all of us are less free.”