A certified copy of a 2009 marriage license application shows that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s surname was crossed out and edited before being finalized, according to reports examining documents from Hennepin County, Minnesota. The application, dated February 12, 2009, was submitted ahead of her marriage to Ahmed Elmi.
The document features an initial entry where the congresswoman’s surname was written as Omar, subsequently crossed out and replaced with Elmi, and finally reverted to Omar. An alternative variation, “Ilhan Omar Elmi,” also appeared in the initial revisions. While the identity of the person who filled out the paperwork remains unclear, the handwriting appears to have come from a single individual.
The paperwork is drawing renewed attention as part of an ongoing Department of Justice inquiry examining whether the Minnesota lawmaker allegedly used inaccurate legal identification or birthdate details during her U.S. citizenship process in 2000. In a recent court filing, federal authorities referred to her as “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
A source familiar with the investigation previously asserted that Omar is a manufactured surname and that her birth surname is Elmi. On the 2009 marriage application, where the form inquires whether the applicants are related by blood or adoption, the box for “no” was checked.
Additional public attention has focused on Elmi’s background, with reports noting he describes himself as gay. The document itself has circulated online for years after initially appearing on a regional Minnesota news platform in August 2016, though major national outlets largely left it unexamined until recently.
Scott W. Johnson, a retired Minneapolis attorney who has tracked the questions surrounding the background case for nearly a decade, described the situation as problematic. “The whole thing is a red flag,” Johnson said. “Questions should be asked. She’s never answered them.”
Omar has consistently denied all allegations of wrongdoing, characterizing the inquiries and questions regarding her family relationships as a politically motivated smear and a racist conspiracy theory driven by political opponents and former President Donald Trump. When pressed directly by television anchor Chris Hayes about whether she is related to Elmi, Omar responded, “Not to my knowledge.”
Representatives for Omar’s congressional office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the marriage license application details.
