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Former state trooper John Nagel pointed the finger at his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Democratic Party for allowing violence linked to Somali-American gangs to escalate in the Twin Cities.
Residents of Eden Prairie and surrounding Twin Cities suburbs fear for their safety after a series of gang-related incidents this month, including the shooting of two teenagers gunned down outside an Eden Prairie High School football game and more than 100 shell casings recovered in a Bloomington neighborhood.
“Where is Ilhan Omar in all this?” Nagel, a Minnesota native who spent 30 years as a state trooper, asked in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I think as a member of Congress representing this particular area, she would attend these meetings or make a statement or she would sit down and say, ‘Hey, how can we help this? How could we stop this?’ And I don’t see her. »
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John Nagel criticized his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Democratic Party for not doing enough to end violence linked to Somali-American gangs in the Twin Cities. (Fox News Digital; Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Nagel accused other Minnesota Democrats, including Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty, of having their “heads in the sand” and preventing law enforcement from stopping the violence before it got out of control.
“They’re being held back by politicians, people who are trying to be soft on crime, people who are trying to send someone other than a police officer to take care of the problems, and it doesn’t work,” Nagel said.
Looking at responses from state leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nagel said the majority of Democrats “don’t want enforcement.”
“People do it,” he said. “They’re fed up.”
Democrats have been too soft on crime for years, Nagel said, which he said has “emboldened” gang members to break the law without serious consequences.
“Because of the way Democrats have run Minnesota over the years, these gang members, and then just crooks in general, are emboldened by this,” he said.
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A portrait of Mary Moriarty at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wednesday, December 7, 2022. (Jenn Ackerman/for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher spoke at a news conference this week, noting that “a big part of the problem” is the failure to hold gang members accountable, saying Moriarty’s office needs to be more “aggressive” in pursuing juveniles.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for Moriarty’s office, said no cases related to the Bloomington incident have been submitted for review, but “they will be reviewed in depth” if they are.
Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was charged Friday in connection with the Eden Prairie homecoming football game shooting with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree rioting.
“Mr. Adam will be held accountable,” Moriarty said in a news release Friday. “Violence in our communities is completely unacceptable and requires a professional and coordinated response, which is what happened here.”
Fletcher also objected to the use of the term “East African” to generalize the ethnicity of gang members, adding that “98 percent of these gang members are Somali” and that the broader label is not “fair.”
“I think we just need to say what it is and not shy away from the term,” he said.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has proposed a $10 million emergency relief package for small businesses affected by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Nagel said people are afraid of being called “racist” if they refer to the gangs as Somalis, arguing that law enforcement simply goes after those who commit the crimes rather than blaming an entire community.
“I mean, we have Latino gangs, and Asian gangs, and black gangs, and we have Somali gangs. It’s not detrimental.”
He said it was a “Somali problem” because it was “coming up.”
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I’m a police officer. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what color you are.”
Nagel said a “gang task force” could be part of the solution and argued, “We don’t need to pass more laws. We don’t need any more people asking for money to help their group. We need to pass the laws we have and prosecute people.”
As gang violence spreads across Minnesota communities, Nagel said it cannot continue as it has.
“We need enforcement, we need arrests and we need incarceration,” he said. “Otherwise it will continue to escalate.”
Nagel will face Omar and independent candidate DeVelle Jackson in the upcoming midterm elections for the House of Representatives seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Omar, Walz and Ellison for comment.
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