Starmer 'concerned' about what is happening in Minnesota. Who is Ilhan Omar, the congresswoman attacked in Minneapolis

When Omar obtained his US citizenship in 2000, he said, he looked at his US passport with pride. But since President Trump was for the first time in 2016, he said, he considers it a "security document". "I've been carrying my passport with me since he became president," Omar, a Somali-born refugee who emigrated to the United States at the age of 12, said in an interview.

In 2019, Omar was criticised by Democrats and Republicans for posting online that some pro-Israel groups were doing it all for money, echoing an anti-Semitic cliché about Jews and money. She later apologised for that comment. In 2021, she equated terrorist attacks carried out by groups like Hamas with the actions of the US government when she wrote: "We have witnessed unthinkable atrocities committed by the United States, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban". He later stated that he did not want to make any comparisons.

Trump recently called her 'trash' during a cabinet meeting and said of Somalis, in general: 'I don't want them in our country. Their country is not good for a reason."

During a rally in December in Pennsylvania, reports the New York Times, Trump mocked Omar's hijab, calling it a 'little turban', and complained that 'all she does is bitch'. He added: "Why do we only welcome people from shitty countries?"

Even after this latest attack Trump went back to attacking her: Democratic Congresswoman Omar 'is an impostor, a fraud' and allegedly organised the syringe attack herself during a public meeting in Minneapolis. Thus, Trump, in an interview with ABC. "No. I don't think about it," he replied when asked if he had seen the video of the attack. "I think she's an impostor" and "probably got sprayed on, knowing her," the president added.

Trump seems to want to lower tensions but does not shy away from provocative outbursts: the protesters protesting against ICE in Minneapolis 'are all paid agitators. They are sick people,' the president said during a rally in Iowa, US media report. "There used to be protests and there were guys making signs in a basement. They get paid to go and they don't even know why, when they interview them, 'why are you here? I don't know'. They have no idea,' he explained.

The president also said in an interview with Fox about the Border Patrol commander removed from Minneapolis: 'Bovino is very good, but he is a rather eccentric guy. In some cases that's good, maybe here it wasn't'.

Meanwhile, the first cracks are appearing among Republicans over Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the tragedies in Minneapolis. Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski openly said that Noem should leave or be fired, after President Donald Trump renewed his confidence in her. In addition to Noem, Tillis also criticised White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller for attacking Alex Pretti immediately after his killing by federal agents: 'Those two people told the president, even before they had any report on the incident, that the person who died was a terrorist. I mean, this is improvisation at the worst level." Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, declined to say whether he had confidence in Noem. "That's a decision for the president to make," Thune, who is from South Dakota like Noem, told reporters.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke on the situation in Minnesota with an appeal for de-escalation. Cook said he was 'deeply saddened by the events in Minneapolis'. The ceo sent an internal memo to staff, reported by the Wall Street Journal, and said he had also privately expressed his concerns to President Trump. "This is a time for de-escalation," Cook wrote in the message viewed by the US news outlet. "I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect, no matter who they are or where they come from, and when we embrace our common humanity." He added that he shared these views with the president: "I had a pleasant conversation with the president this week, during which I shared my views, and I appreciate his willingness to engage on issues we all care about." The message to Apple employees comes after criticism of Cook for attending a formal event at the White House on Saturday, just hours after the killing of Pretti in Minneapolis, an event that further exacerbated the climate in one of the hottest cities in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and sparked clashes between federal officials and local protesters.

Two federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti on Saturday morning in Minneapolis. CNN writes this exclusively, citing an initial report from the Department of Homeland Security to Congress. The document, from the Customs and Border Protection investigation into Pretti's shooting, states that one agent shouted 'He has a gun' several times before two fired while Pretti was held on the ground. "Customs and Border Protection personnel attempted to arrest Pretti. Pretti resisted and a scuffle ensued," the report states. "During the scuffle, a Border Patrol officer yelled several times, 'He has a gun!'" and ''approximately five seconds later'' an officer ''fired his Cbp-issued Glock 19'' and an officer ''fired his Cbp-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.'' The report does not specify whether the bullets fired by both law enforcement officers hit Pretti, CNN adds.

The report, continues CNN, adding that "after the shooting, an officer claimed to be in possession of Pretti's firearm. Subsequently, Border police cleared and seized Pretti's weapon in his vehicle'. Police personnel 'cut off Pretti's clothes and rendered him medical assistance by applying seals to his chest wounds,' the report states. Prior to the shooting, a Border Patrol officer 'was confronted by two civilians blowing whistles', the document continues.