Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded to questions Friday about accountability within the state’s Somali community amid a massive fraud scandal by pointing to crimes committed by white men.
Somalis in Minnesota have been implicated in several large-scale fraud cases, including schemes in which dozens of Somali defendants have been charged with stealing approximately $1 billion in taxpayer funds from state and federal social services programs. The programs included those intended to provide food assistance to children from low-income households.
During a press exchange, a reporter asked Walz whether more accountability and oversight should come from within the Somali community.
“What do you want to hear more from, instead of just saying don’t blame us? Do you want to see more ownership and oversight from within the Somali community?” the reporter asked.
Walz responded by shifting the focus to crime more broadly, insisting that criminal activity is not limited to any single community.
“Look, it’s not law-abiding citizens. If that were the case, there’s a lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the crimes that they have committed,” Walz said. He added that some members of the Somali community have themselves been victimized by fraud schemes carried out by providers within the community, saying that some individuals were unaware they had been enrolled in programs fraudulently. Walz argued that crime should be addressed as a general issue rather than attributed to a specific group.
For many, the irony lies in his own party’s insistence on treating white men as a scapegoat or problem to be solved.
In 2018, Somali Congresswoman and progressive Squad member Ilhan Omar said in an interview, “I would say our country should be more fearful of white men across our country, because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country.”
The governor has faced scrutiny from state officials who have accused him of “willfully” disregarding rules and laws intended to ensure transparency around fraud reporting. Walz has also accused President Donald Trump of staging a “PR stunt” and “indiscriminately targeting immigrants” as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased operations in Minnesota to detain Somali nationals with deportation orders.
Concerns about crime involving Somali nationals have drawn heightened attention in recent months. In July, Qalinle Ibrahim Dirie, a Somali national living in the United States, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Minneapolis in 2024. Another individual avoided jail time despite being a serial rapist and has since been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman over several days, according to the New York Post.
Trump responded to the situation in a Nov. 27 Truth Social post, calling Walz “seriously r******d.”
READ NEXT: The $8 Billion Lie: Minnesota’s Somali Community Is A $4B Annual Taxpayer Burden
Sponsored
Demonrats aren’t accountable for any thing, it’s always the other guy.
If the Somalis weren’t in the USA, they wouldn’t have committed crimes in this country.. And MN is just as lawless for pink folks as any others. Defund the police, “ woke” the prosecutor, throw open the prison doors. But make sure the schoolboys have tampons.
I don’t believe the citizens of Minnesota have the integrity or gumption to stand up for their state anymore. They have become defeatist cowards. Sad to see a once admired state collapse without fighting for itself. Very cowardly.
Usually try to leave a more considered comment but all I could come up with for this is: A turd in a suit.