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Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar says a Homeland Security Investigations agent was outside her monthly town hall meeting in Richfield, Minnesota, on Thursday.
Omar posted a letter she sent to Michael McCarthy, interim special agent in charge of HSI’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota, regarding the incident on social media Monday afternoon. The document said a Richfield police officer noticed a young woman sitting in a Ford Explorer as people arrived at an area community center, where the meeting took place, and “became suspicious of the way she was monitoring the building.”
According to Omar’s letter, the officer then ran the plates attached to the Ford and found they were registered to a different vehicle. They then approached the woman in the SUV.
“I understand that she initially identified herself as security, and after Richfield Police confirmed with my security team that she was not part of our operation, she called her supervisor and explained that she was an HSI agent and was outside the community center as part of an undercover drug operation in the area,” Omar said in the letter.
The woman left the property after speaking with her supervisor, according to Omar’s letter.
“Instead of monitoring the area for those who might wish harm to me and my constituents, Richfield Police were required to devote time to investigating why an HSI agent was outside of a Congressional event in a vehicle with mismatched plates,” Omar said in a written statement on Monday. “It also raises serious and uncomfortable questions about the purpose of HSI’s presence outside of my event.”
According to Omar’s letter, the Richfield Police Department said they had no advance communication of an undercover operation from HSI that would have “allowed them to ensure the safety of the officer and the community, as well as support HSI’s broader work to combat drug trafficking.”
WCCO has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.
Omar said the incident “raises concerns” about practices at HSI and its parent agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She’s asking McCarthy to explain why the agent was stationed outside the community center, how the agency learned of the meeting and what training the agent had completed.
Omar also requested information from McCarthy about any other official events or Minnesota leaders HSI agents may have observed this year.