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In a fiery statement, Donald Trump has lambasted Minnesota lawmakers, accusing them of overseeing rampant fraud within the state and even suggesting that Representative Ilhan Omar should face imprisonment.
Recently, Minnesota has been at the center of controversy, drawing sharp criticism from the Trump administration. The federal government has accused local officials of ignoring instances of fraud involving the misuse of federal funds.
This scrutiny intensified following the conviction of Aimee Bock, who was found guilty of multiple charges, including fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. Her crimes involved the misappropriation of funds meant for the nonprofit organization, Feeding Our Future.
The legal proceedings have cast a spotlight on Minnesota’s welfare programs, with prosecutors now alleging that a staggering half of the $18 billion federal funds allocated to the state since 2018 may have been misappropriated.
Trump, taking to his platform Truth Social, has dramatically expanded on these claims. He contends that the fraud in Minnesota exceeds $19 billion, accusing the Biden administration of being aware of the situation yet failing to take action. “The Biden Administration knew this FRAUD was happening, and did absolutely nothing about it,” Trump asserted in his post.
‘“Scammer” Illhan Omar and her absolutely terrible friends from Somalia should all be in jail right now or, far worse, send them back to Somalia,’ the continued.
‘“Governor” Waltz is either the most CORRUPT government official in history, or the most INCOMPETENT. Even a very low IQ person, of which there are many, should have known what was going on in Minnesota!!!’
Minnesota lawmakers have been at odds with the Trump administration, as the president continues to hurl accusations of fraud, attacks against the state’s Somali community, and heightened raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
President Donald Trump, pictured above in the Oval Office on Friday, penned a scathing message to Minnesota lawmakers on Truth Social
Trump threatened Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, pictured above on Tuesday, with jail time or a fate ‘far worse’ in a social media rant on Saturday morning
Trump’s rant also issued a bizarre attack against Governor Tim Walz, pictured above with his wife Gwen last August. Trump called Walz the ‘most corrupt government official in history’ on Saturday morning
The saga began when Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson announced in December that Minnesota-based companies and nonprofits were using federal funds for personal gain.
‘The magnitude cannot be overstated,’ Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis.
‘What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.’
Governor Tim Walz has long been a subject of Trump’s wrath, with the president using the allegations to claim that Minnesota is a ‘hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.’
Walz has condemned the fraud cases in his state and initiated a third-party audit of 14 high-risk Medicaid programs.
The Feeding Our Future scandal dates back to 2022, when 47 people were accused of funneling $250 million in federal funds for their own use.
Bock was accused of overseeing the fraud scheme along with dozens of her associates and co-defendants, many of whom were of Somali descent.
Trump used the case to justify several racist attacks against the Somali community, accusing them of ‘ripping off’ Minnesota, and referring to them as ‘garbage.’
Representative Ilhan Omar, pictured above with her husband, Tim Mynett in 2023, has been a frequent target of Trump’s verbal attacks
Trump, pictured above at the White House on Friday, has previously said that Somalis, who make up a significant portion of Minnesota’s population, are ‘garbage’ and has ordered them out of the country
Aimee Bock, pictured above in 2022, pleaded guilty to several fraud and conspiracy charges for falsely applying for federal funds through the nonprofit, Feeding Our Future
He told reporters in December that he ‘didn’t want’ Somalians in the state and has called them ‘garbage.’
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said Somalis living in the US on a Temporary Protective Status (TPS) would have to leave the country by March 17.
TPS is granted to immigrants from countries that have been destabilized, impoverished, or face a humanitarian crisis. Former President Joe Biden renewed TPS for Somalis in 2022.
Civilians in Somalia are subject to abuses carried out by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab. The country has also faced a devastating food crisis.