Ilhan Omar Sets Lakeside Video to Somali Song Vowing Enemies Will 'Suffer and Cry'

Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat under federal investigation over her immigration records, posted a 27-second video on Friday of herself walking beside a Minnesota lake with her husband, Tim Mynett. The caption was gentle: "Less scrolling, more strolling. Enjoying our beautiful Minnesota lakes," she wrote on X. The post has drawn nearly 3 million views and more than 1,500 quote posts.

The music under the clip is less gentle. It is "Nimaan Ciilayba Icaaya," a song by U.S.-based Somali rapper Ilkacase Qays featuring singer Hodan Abdirahman, and the Washington Free Beacon commissioned a certified English translation of its lyrics. The Free Beacon read the choice as a shot at President Trump. Omar's caption did not mention Trump or name anyone as the target.

What the song says

The full translation, which the Free Beacon published as a PDF, reads like a warning to rivals. "The Almighty has given me strength. If I confront you in the afternoon, by evening, I will teach you a lesson, and keep you awake throughout the night," one verse says. "Yes, you will suffer and cry in seething, you will scream like a demon."

Another passage goes further: "Let me show you who I am, hey, hey! No enemy dares to threaten me." Later verses say, "Let the enemies die of seething. We are the ones who rule this land," and "We impose taxes on our enemies. We punish them and fill them with resentment. We subjugate and humiliate them."

Those are the song's words, not Omar's, and the translation covers the whole track rather than only the seconds heard in her clip.

Not a random pick

According to the Free Beacon, the song means something to Omar. Footage uploaded to YouTube shows her singing and dancing to it with Qays and Abdirahman at a party in May, and she was filmed dancing beside Qays again in June at the Somali Global Awards in Minneapolis. Qays, born in Mogadishu, calls himself the "King of Somali Hip Hop" and has campaigned for Democrats in Minnesota, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's 2025 reelection, the outlet reported, citing the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The White House noticed. Its Rapid Response 47 account shared the Free Beacon story on Saturday under the headline "'You Will Suffer And Cry': Ilhan Omar Taunts Trump With Venomous Somali Hip-Hop Diss Track."

The probe behind it

The timing is what makes the song choice stand out. Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar's Washington home on Oct. 12 under a court-approved warrant, part of a federal criminal investigation into whether she or her late father gave false information on immigration paperwork. On Wednesday, prosecutors referred to her in a court filing as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," which UNGA NEWS reported here. Elmi is the surname of the man she married in 2009, whom critics have long alleged is her brother. She has repeatedly denied that.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has also said her office is looking at Omar's financial disclosures, the Free Beacon reported. Trump, at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, said she should step down: "It's not looking good, because she used a fake name to be sworn in. I assume she must immediately have to resign from Congress," per the rally transcript.

Omar calls the investigation political. "For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation," she wrote the day of the search. "I will not be silenced." Her office did not respond to the Free Beacon's request for comment on the video.