Lauren Boebert calls for House Dem to be jailed and deported based on conspiracy theory

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) agreed with a far-right influencer that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should be imprisoned or deported to Somalia, based in part on a conspiracy theory about her former marriage.

"I have heard from top sources at the Department of Homeland Security that there is demonstrable evidence of Ilhan Omar marrying her brother for U.S. citizenship," wrote Benny Johnson on X, posting a video of him speaking to Boebert. "I asked Rep. Lauren Boebert about this and she says Omar should be immediately investigated, thrown in jail, or deported back to Somalia not only for these allegations, but for defying the Congressional Code of Ethics: 'This is someone who should be investigated and I think she should be sitting in prison or at least sent back to Somalia.'"

Omar, one of the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, came to the United States as a Somali refugee as a child.

Rumors that Omar's ex-husband Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is secretly her brother, and married her to illegally gain residency in the United States, have circulated since 2016 during her run for Minnesota state legislature, when a right-wing website briefly posted, then deleted, what was purported to be an Instagram screenshot that showed Elmi with Omar's children by a previous marriage, and calling them "nieces."

There is no evidence for the claim other than this now-deleted, unsubstantiated screenshot. Omar has categorically denied this, calling it "disgusting lies," and the theory also doesn't make a lot of sense because if Elmi really were Omar's brother, he could apply for a U.S. visa as Omar's brother, rather than as her husband.

Nevertheless, a number of right-wingers have circulated the claim, including President Donald Trump himself. Boebert, meanwhile, who is best known for running a gun-filled restaurant before being elected to Congress and being ejected from a "Beetlejuice" performance for groping her date in front of children, has repeatedly pushed religiously-motivated attacks on Omar, calling her part of the "Jihad Squad."