Ilhan Omar Admits Fabricating Story About an ‘Injustice’ to High School Students

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) admitted to fabricating a story on a purported “injustice” to a group of students five years ago during her tenure as a Minneapolis city councilman, it was revealed Monday.

The Washington Post piece detailing Omar’s “complicated” relationship with the U.S. featured a brief mention of a story Omar told a group of 400 high school students at Richfield High School in Minneapolis five years ago. She told the students she witnessed a “sweet, old … African American lady” in a courtroom who spent a weekend in jail for stealing $2 loaf of bread to feed her hungry granddaughter.

She told them the woman was fined $80 – a fine she was incapable of paying. Omar told the students she “couldn’t control” her emotions because she “couldn’t understand how a roomful of educated adults could do something so unjust.” She claimed she shouted, “Bullsh*t!” in the courtroom.

However, even the Washington Post seemed to think Omar’s tale sounded oddly familiar:

Omar’s story echoed the plot of “Les Miserables.” If true, it is also probably embellished. City officials said that police aren’t allowed to arrest people for shoplifting unless there’s a likelihood of violence or further crime. Typically, shoplifters are sentenced to attend a three-hour class.

When questioned, Omar admitted she likely omitted – or as the Post described it,  “flubbed” – key details:

In an interview, Omar said she may have flubbed some facts. “She might have had a prior [arrest],” Omar said. “I’m not sure. . . . The details might not have all matched, but that’s what I remember.”

As the Post noted, non-violent shoplifters with clean records are not immediately placed in jail. Rather, they are required to take a three-hour course, signaling another red flag in Omar’s story, seemingly aimed to taint the student body’s view of the justice system.

The Post also noted another instance of Omar flubbing basic facts, recalling her recent remarks to group of veterans. She reportedly told them that nearly half – 45 percent – of military families “rely on food stamps.”

“She was trying to make the point that Republicans didn’t care for the troops. The actual number is less than 5 percent, according to Pentagon statistics,” the Post reported.