Sahra Noor, the older sister of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, abruptly canceled a scheduled appearance on her book tour on Friday in Rochester, Minnesota.
The event, which was set for 6:30 p.m. local time at the Intercultural Student Center at the University of Minnesota Rochester, was promoted by Garden Party Books as a discussion of Noor’s memoir, “Salt in the Snow: A Somali Immigrant Story.” A flyer listed the bookstore, University of Minnesota Bookstores, and the Rochester Public Library as supporters and described the book as addressing immigration and family ties.
When a reporter from Fox News arrived after RSVPing through a QR code on the flyer, the venue was empty. No advance notice of cancellation, postponement, or relocation had been sent.
Garden Books later stated that the appearance was canceled due to a family emergency involving Noor.
The cancellation occurred during Noor’s U.S. promotional efforts for the memoir, which was launched at a Nairobi bookstore on August 13, 2026. She had previously appeared at a literary festival in Cape Town, South Africa, in early September, followed by Minnesota events in Minneapolis on October 1, at the University of Minnesota on October 6, and in St. Paul on October 7.
Her next listed appearance was scheduled for October 23 at the Somali Community Cultural Innovation Hub in Seattle. Noor, a health systems consultant, resides in Nairobi, Kenya, according to her LinkedIn profile, while traveling for the tour.
POLL: Should Ilhan Omar Be Deported If Found Guilty Of Immigration Fraud?
WOW! Ilhan Omar's sister Sahra Noor just skipped her OWN book tour event after being FEDERALLY SUBPOENAED in the fraud probe — Fox News
And so the panic sets in…
Noor was scheduled to promote her memoir "Salt in the Snow: A Somali Immigrant Story" at the University of… pic.twitter.com/2vwqU20Cr8
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2026
The Rochester cancellation took place amid a federal criminal investigation into potential immigration fraud and false statements in paperwork related to Omar and her family. Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C.-area residence on the morning of October 12 after a U.S. district judge signed off on a search warrant. Agents seized items including Omar’s phone, laptop, notebooks, and passport.
According to reporting in The New York Times citing people familiar with the matter, investigators had earlier seized a phone belonging to Sahra Noor. Text messages from that phone were reviewed and used to support the application for the warrant authorizing the home search.
Federal officials have also issued grand jury subpoenas in recent days to Noor and several other people connected to Omar as part of an investigation before a grand jury in Minnesota.
The inquiry examines whether Omar and relatives lied or omitted information on immigration forms filed after the family arrived in the United States as refugees in the 1990s following Somalia’s civil war. Specific areas of focus include Omar’s birth date and age at the time of naturalization in 2000, whether she properly derived citizenship through her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, as a minor, and information provided by her father regarding his background.
A separate federal inquiry — which was opened under the Biden Administration — is examining Omar’s financial disclosures.
RELATED: DHS Secretary Mullin Give Cryptic Statement On Ilhan Omar Case: ‘Multiple Warrants’
Continue reading...
[ H/T Trending Politics ]
