Several major news outlets, including Fox News, the New York Post, and The Independent, falsely reported that the government of Somaliland had called for the extradition of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar. These stories were based on a post from the X (formerly Twitter) account @RepOfSomaliland, which stated, “Extradition? Say the word…”. However, this account is not an official government channel, a fact publicly clarified by Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December.
In a statement to The Guardian, Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized, “We kindly advise that any news or statements be referenced solely from official and authorized channels to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information.” Fox News later issued a quiet correction, acknowledging the account was not a verified government outlet and revising its headline to “Pro-Somaliland account backs extraditing Ilhan Omar after Vance fraud claim.”
The post was a reaction to an interview U.S. Vice President JD Vance gave to conservative influencer Benny Johnson on March 28, in which Vance allegedly claimed that Omar had “definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America.” Vance purportedly discussed potential legal remedies with White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller, but Omar’s chief of staff, Connor McNutt, dismissed the accusations as “a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract,” referencing Vance’s past admission of willingness to “create stories” for media diversion.
This is not the first time Omar has been at the center of viral misinformation with a Somali angle. In early 2024, a mistranslated clip of her speech in Minneapolis spread rapidly online, with right-wing figures accusing her of declaring herself “Somalian first.” These reports emerged against a backdrop of escalating rhetoric from the White House targeting Minnesota’s Somali community and Somalia, where former President Trump described Somalia as a “crooked, disgusting country” and boasted of getting Minnesota “back from Somalia.”
Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee at age 12 and became a citizen at 17, warned in a Guardian interview in December that Trump’s rhetoric was fueling a climate of political violence with real consequences: “We’ve had people incarcerated for threatening to kill me.” She added that her concern extended to anyone “who looks like me in Minneapolis.” In January, a man assaulted her with a syringe during a Minneapolis town hall, hours after Trump had again targeted her with xenophobic remarks, leading to federal assault charges against the perpetrator.
Source: www.theguardian.com