Tucker Carlson 'proves' Ilhan Omar scandal with claims by accused sex trafficker Anton Lazarro
Despite being repeatedly debunked as a fringe conspiracy theory, conservatives can't seem to get enough of Ilhan Omar's brother scandal. On August 18, Tucker Carlson roped in a conservative commentator Miranda Devine to further speak about the theory, based on a DNA report uploaded by an accused child sex trafficker. You read that right, the latest "source" is a person who is currently in jail for sex trafficking charges.
That individual is Anton Lazarro, a GOP strategist who was arrested on August 12. A day before he was arrested, Lazarro uploaded a DNA test that proved Omar's ex-husband Ahmed Elmi was in fact her brother. The "proof" was later taken down after he was arrested. It's the latest attempt by conservatives to smear the far-left Congresswoman, who has been battling the theory for years now. In March 2020, the man who first made the claims said he "feared for his life" after being threatened by Omar's friends.
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Since she was first elected to Congress, Omar has been facing a massive backlash from conservatives. The biggest pressure campaign has been the theory that Elmi was in fact her brother, who she married so he could easily obtain a US visa. It's a theory that has dogged her for years and shown little sign of ending. Now, Lazarro's claims have become the bedrock for further theories, as Carlson was happy to share on-air.
Evidence of scandal from Lazarro
On August 18, Carlson invited Devine to speak on his show about the scandal. This was shortly after Devine wrote an article in The New York Post about Lazarro and the scandal on August 15. "Before Lazarro could share the results with the media, he was arrested Thursday on underage sex-trafficking charges and jailed pending a court hearing Monday," she wrote. The article appeared to insinuate that Lazarro was arrested because he posted the DNA report online, with Devine noting he was arrested "only hours" after posting it.
At the heart of the theory is Lazarro's DNA test. The test, conducted by Endeavor DNA Laboratories does not specifically name Omar or Elmi, indicates a 99.999998% match between two DNA samples, believed to be that of Omar and Elmi. The test was part of a two-year-long investigation by Lazarro's Big Tent Republicans PAC. They've even created a website to showcase the test, along with the lengths they went to, to prove the scandal.
The PAC reportedly spent thousands of dollars to track down Elmi in the UK and procure his DNA from a straw. They were able to obtain Omar's DNA from a cigarette butt, which she smoked outside her house in 2020. "We’re even offering $1,000,000 USD if Ilhan will take a DNA test herself to prove the facts on this website are not 100% authentic," the website says. Devine used the website to indicate that Omar had indeed married her own brother, and also said the FBI had the proof.
Devine 'prooves' scandal
In her article, Devine slammed the FBI for not investigating the scandal further. When it first broke, Special Agent Joy Hess, from the FBI’s Twin Cities field office was leading the investigation. Hess was roped into the scandal by Lazarro, who recorded her talking to a colleague of his. Hess told Lazarro's colleague that the investigation could not be pursued because "the statute of limitations has run out". "Her waffling excuses on this phone call are truly shocking and inexcusable to any American voter who values trust in these extremely powerful Federal agencies," the website says.
Devine picked up on this in her interview with Carlson. She said, "the story never got to see the light of day. Luckily he told the FBI, but they were not interested, they told him the statute of limitations had run out." She added, "we managed to see the website before he took it down before he was arrested. And managed to report the story, such as it was." All of the evidence, from the DNA test to Hess' confession, were part of an investigation led by Lazarro, who is a well-known GOP strategist. The "proof" is yet to be validated by any leading agencies or authorities, and given Lazarro was recently arrested (for unrelated charges) draws more suspicion on the validity of the claims.