Omar questions HSI agent outside Minnesota town hall

Rep. Ilhan Omar is asking federal officials to explain why a Homeland Security Investigations agent was parked outside her monthly town hall meeting in Richfield, Minnesota, in a vehicle whose plates did not match government records.

The Democratic congresswoman, who represents Minnesota’s 5th District, sent a letter Monday to Michael McCarthy, interim special agent in charge of HSI’s office in St. Paul, seeking details about the agent’s presence outside the community center where the event was held Thursday. HSI is the main investigative branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Omar said a Richfield police officer noticed a young woman sitting in a Ford Explorer as people arrived for the town hall and “became suspicious of the way she was monitoring the building.” The officer ran the vehicle’s plates and found they were registered to a different vehicle, according to Omar’s letter.

“He approached the woman in the vehicle to ask about the purpose for her presence there and why the plates on her vehicle did not match the government’s records,” Omar wrote, according to The Guardian. “Like any reasonable officer, he was concerned that she harbored ill intentions and may be in a stolen vehicle.”

Omar said the woman first identified herself as security. After Richfield police confirmed with Omar’s security team that she was not part of their operation, the woman called her supervisor and said she was an HSI agent conducting an undercover drug operation in the area, according to Omar’s letter. She left the property after speaking with her supervisor.

Omar said Richfield police had received no advance notice from HSI of an undercover operation that would have allowed local officers “to ensure the safety of the officer and the community, as well as support HSI’s broader work to combat drug trafficking.”

“Instead of monitoring the area for those who might wish harm to me and my constituents, Richfield Police were required to devote time to investigating why an HSI agent was outside of a Congressional event in a vehicle with mismatched plates,” Omar said in a written statement Monday. “It also raises serious and uncomfortable questions about the purpose of HSI’s presence outside of my event.”

In her letter, Omar asked McCarthy to explain why the agent was stationed outside the community center, how HSI learned of the town hall and what training the agent had completed. She also requested information about whether HSI agents had observed any other official events or Minnesota leaders this year, including “local, state, or federal officials,” The Guardian reported.

Omar said the episode raises concerns about practices at HSI and ICE. The Guardian reported that she also wrote: “At best, your agent was unable to assess that the parking lot of a community center hosting a congressional event wasn’t the best place to conduct a drug operation. At worst, it emphasizes many Americans’ growing concern that the Trump administration uses ICE to surveil political opponents and may interfere with our democracy.”

CBS News reported that WCCO sought comment from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Guardian said it contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

The Guardian reported that ICE operations in Minnesota have prompted widespread protests across the state this year and have resulted in the deaths of two Americans, Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, who were killed by federal agents. The outlet also reported that in January, a man sprayed Omar with an unidentified substance from a syringe during a town hall where she called for ICE to be abolished “for good,” drawing condemnation from local and state leaders.