A family friend claims Ilhan Omar’s first husband was humiliated when her allegedly fraudulent second husband moved into their home.
The anonymous source, described as close to Ahmed Hirsi, told The Post that Hirsi used “very strong words” about Ahmed Nur Said Elmi’s arrival in Minneapolis around 2009. Omar, 42, had reportedly split from Hirsi that year after two children together, then quickly married Elmi, a Somali man from London, in what the source called a paper marriage for immigration purposes.
“He told me that it was his wife’s brother from London and that Ilhan had ’embarrassed all of us by bringing him here’,” the source said. “Ahmed used very strong words and said it was ‘disgusting.'”
The source painted a vivid picture of Elmi’s reception in Minnesota’s tight-knit Somali community. “He was walking around in tight female clothing, which is heavily frowned upon in the Somali community, so I went to ask Ahmed about it,” the friend recounted. “The whole community was gossiping about [Elmi] when he first arrived.”
Hirsi, known by his nickname “South Side,” had built a reputation as a sociable figure with deep roots in the area. “He was very sociable and had his finger on the pulse of everything that was happening,” the source said. “He is a good man and has friends all over town.”
That standing made Elmi’s presence all the more damaging, according to the account. “All of the Somalis in Minneapolis were gossiping and trying to find out who this guy was,” the source continued. “Then everyone realized it was Nur Said Elmi’s son, and Ilhan’s brother. Everybody was shocked.”
The friend claimed Hirsi confided details about the arrangement’s purpose. “Ahmed told me it was his wife [Omar] who brought him over, and it was her brother,” the source said. “He explained that she had married him legally to get him papers and that he was only Islamically married to her.”
Hirsi’s contempt reportedly ran deep. “He said her brother was ‘pure trash’ who had embarrassed their whole family and was complaining about why Ilhan had to bring him over,” the friend told The Post.
The source said Elmi’s flamboyant presentation — short shorts with cowboy boots, tight women’s clothing — clashed sharply with community norms, especially given his father’s reputation. “The others used to compare his behavior to his father, Nur, a respected military general,” the friend noted. “Ahmed said he was bringing a bad name to the family.”
Social ostracism followed. “I used to see Elmi in my neighborhood but we kept our separate ways because if people saw me with him, everyone would think differently of me,” the source added.
The alleged tension centered on the children Hirsi shared with Omar — Isra, now 23, and Adnan, 20. “Ahmed used to insult her brother all the time and say nasty things,” the friend said. “He told me, ‘He’s an uncle to my children and I am scared he is going to influence them with his effeminate lifestyle.'”
Public arguments became common. “Ahmed and Ilhan used to argue over her brother all the time,” the source claimed. “I saw them arguing and shouting in public.”
Relief came only when Elmi departed Minnesota around 2012, by which time Omar had given birth to a third child, Ilwad, while still legally married to Elmi. “Ahmed praised God for taking him away from his family,” the source said.
Omar’s timeline has shifted over years of scrutiny. She and Hirsi first sought a marriage license in 2002 but later said they never finalized it, separating in 2008 before reconciling and legally marrying in 2018. Her marriage to Elmi lasted from 2009 to 2017, with both listing a Columbia Heights address on their application — the same address Hirsi used for a business license. Joint tax filings between Omar and Hirsi in 2014 and 2015, during her legal marriage to Elmi, were later corrected.
Omar and Hirsi ultimately divorced in 2019. She is now married to Tim Mynett, her former political advisor. Elmi returned to the UK after time in South Africa, where he pursues academic work at the University of Bristol and maintains social media profiles describing himself as a “dirty dandy.”
Hirsi, Omar and Elmi did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
