Rep. Ilhan Omar shared a Minneapolis stage with streamer Hasan Piker to rally young voters, even after leading Minnesota Democrats urged her to cancel.
Story Highlights
- Omar joined Piker and state Sen. Omar Fateh at a Minneapolis event eight days before the midterm elections.
- Her campaign said the goal was to reach young voters because early voting among people under 40 is down.
- Rep. Angie Craig called Piker’s rhetoric “polarizing and dangerous,” and Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s campaign called some of his statements “reckless and unacceptable.”
- Omar has not been charged in a separate federal probe tied to her family’s immigration papers, and she calls it political targeting.
- Piker once said “America deserved 9/11,” a remark he later apologized for.
Democrats Split As Omar Shares Stage With Polarizing Streamer
On Monday night, October 26, Omar appeared with Piker and Fateh, a Minneapolis Democrat in the state Senate, at the Theatre in the Round. It is a 245-seat venue in the city’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. The event, a talk series hosted by Fateh, was put on by a local group called Baddies 4 Progress and a communications firm called Haus of C. It was streamed live on Twitch, a video site popular with young viewers. Piker is a far-left streamer with millions of followers, most of them younger progressives.
Omar’s campaign explained why she went. “Early voting among people under 40 is down, and we need to do everything to get young people to the polls,” it said. On stage, Omar, who came to America as a refugee from Somalia, said, “Minnesota does not come after their refugees; they send one to Congress.” She urged the crowd to vote. Asked why Minnesota draws so much national attention, Piker said, “I think it’s jealousy.” One local news crew was invited and then turned away at the last minute; Fateh cited a lack of space.
Why Fellow Democrats Spoke Out Against Piker
The anger centers on Piker’s past words. In 2019 he said “America deserved 9/11,” a remark he later apologized for. Earlier in 2026 he said on a podcast that he would “vote for Hamas over Israel every single time.” He has also called Orthodox Jews “inbred.” Piker has rejected claims that he is antisemitic.
Craig, a Minnesota congresswoman, said embracing Piker as a party “is a mistake.” Klobuchar, who is running for governor, said through her campaign that some of his past statements were “reckless and unacceptable.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “We shouldn’t only condemn bigotry when it’s politically convenient.” Rep. Betty McCollum said Piker “has used hate-filled, incendiary rhetoric that divides Americans.” The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas called the event “a betrayal of Jewish Minnesotans and harmful to the broader public.” Lisa Demuth, the Republican nominee for governor, said Democratic leaders “invited a vile anti-American left-wing radical to Minnesota.”
A Separate Federal Probe Sets The Stakes
The event came two weeks after federal agents searched Omar’s home in the Washington, D.C., area early on Monday, October 12. The agents were from Homeland Security Investigations, the main investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Officials said they carried out a “judicially authorized search warrant” tied to “an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” Officials have not released more details.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had earlier pointed to an investigation into possible fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork. According to reports, her late father filled out those papers when she was a child. Omar has not been charged. She denies wrongdoing and called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” She added, “I will not be silenced.”
A Campaign Bet On Youth Reach, With Risks
Before the event, Piker made a surprise stop at the University of Minnesota, where he drove students around campus so they could vote early. Influencers like Piker reach younger voters who rarely watch cable news. But that same reach spreads controversy fast, and short clips travel farther than context.
Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said the event would “create a split within the DFL,” Minnesota’s Democratic Party, whose full name is the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He said it could pull attention from the party’s closing message and put candidates in a tough spot with moderate and Jewish voters. Some in the crowd welcomed the push to the left. “We gotta move a little bit further over than where we’re at,” said one attendee from Mankato.
Why This Matters To Voters Who Value Law, Order, And Decency
Conservatives see two core issues here. The first is respect for the law. A federal judge approved a search of a sitting congresswoman’s home, and that deserves sober attention. The second is respect for the country. Giving a stage to a man who once said America deserved 9/11 tells voters something about a leader’s judgment, and even members of Omar’s own party said so out loud.
What Comes Next
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Omar’s campaign, Fateh and Piker did not answer requests for comment before the event, according to reports. Officials have not announced any charges in the federal probe. For voters, the takeaway is simple: character and judgment count. Who you put on your stage shows what you tolerate and what you promote, and that is fair ground in any election.
Sources:
foxnews.com, cbsnews.com, jewishinsider.com, jewishinsider.com, kstp.com, startribune.com, nbcnews.com
