Former Trooper Hammers Ilhan Omar Over Somali Gang Chaos

Liberty Check

• Local law enforcement says soft-on-crime policies have emboldened Somali gangs in Minnesota.
• Former state trooper John Nagel calls out Rep. Ilhan Omar and Democrats for failing to protect residents.
• Enforcement, not more spending or excuses, is needed to stop the violence.

Former Minnesota state trooper John Nagel is sounding the alarm over rising Somali gang violence in the Twin Cities, and he’s placing the blame squarely on Rep. Ilhan Omar and the Democratic Party.

Residents in Eden Prairie and nearby suburbs have watched crime spiral after a string of gang incidents, including a shooting outside a high school football game and over 100 shell casings recovered in Bloomington.

“Where is Ilhan Omar in all of this?” Nagel asked in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I would think that as a congressman that represents this particular area that she’d be at these meetings or she’d have a statement or she’d be sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, how can we help this? How could we stop this?’ And I don’t see her.”

Nagel accused other Minnesota Democrats, including Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, of having their “heads in the sand” and preventing law enforcement from stopping the violence before it got out of control.

“They’re being restrained by politicians, people that are trying soft on crime, people that’re trying to send somebody other than a police officer to take care of issues, and it’s not working,” Nagel said.

Looking at the responses of statewide leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nagel said the majority of Democrats “don’t want enforcement.”

“The people do,” he said. “They’re tired of it.”

Democrats have been too lenient on crime for years, according to Nagel, which he said has “emboldened” gang members to break the law without serious consequences.

“Because of how the Democrats have run Minnesota over the years, these gang members and then just crooks in general, they’re emboldened by this,” he said.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher spoke at a press conference this week, highlighting that a “big chunk of the problem” is failing to hold gang members accountable, saying Moriarty’s office needs to be more “aggressive” with prosecuting juveniles.

Fletcher also pushed back on “East African” being used to generalize the gang members’ ethnicity, adding that “98% of these gang members are Somali” and that the broader label isn’t “fair.”

“I think we just have to say what it is and not run away from the term,” he said.

Nagel said people are afraid of being called “racist” for referring to the gangs as Somali, arguing that law enforcement is simply going after those committing the crimes rather than blaming an entire community.

“I mean, we have Latino gangs and Asian gangs and Black gangs, and we have Somali gangs. This is not being prejudicial.”

He said it’s a “Somali problem” because that’s “who’s showing up.”

“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I’m a police officer. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what color you are.”

Nagel said a “gang task force” could be part of the solution and argued, “We don’t need to pass any more laws. We don’t need any more people asking for money to help their group. We need to take the laws that we have and prosecute people.”

As gang violence spills into Minnesota communities, Nagel said it can’t continue to go on like it has.

“We need enforcement, we need arrests, and we need incarceration,” he said. “Otherwise, this is going to continue to spiral.”

Nagel will face off against Omar and Independent candidate DeVelle Jackson in the upcoming midterm elections for the U.S. House seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

It’s time to push back.