The Conversation (0)
News
Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar has already made waves since taking office in January, causing a stir among her own party after criticising the influence of Israeli lobbyists in Washington.
Her criticism of the "political influence" of interest groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee sparked condemnation from her own side and inspired the House of Representatives to pass a resolution condemning prejudice of all kinds.
Donald Trump was quick to exploit the controversy, calling for her resignation from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and using the spat to accuse his opposition - outrageously and without foundation - of being "an anti-Israel, anti-Jewish party".
For her part, she's not been shy about retaliating:
Alt-right activists Jacob Wohl and Laura Loomer have also been after representative Omar, a hijab-wearing Muslim and the first Somali-American to be elected to Congress.
On Wednesday, an account named Culttture (with 17 followers at the time of writing) posted a new 25-minute film on Vimeo entitled, Importing Ilhan - A Documentary Exploring Rep. Omar's Marriage Scandal.
Directed by Ali Alexander and featuring Wohl and Loomer, the documentary sets out to explore a highly-questionable conspiracy theory regarding the politician, alleging the man she married in 2009 - Ahmed Nur Said Elmi - was really her own brother.
Omar was born in Mogadishu in 1981 but her family fled to Kenya in 1991 when civil war erupted. In 1995, their asylum application to the US was accepted and she finally became a US citizen in 2000.
The rumour about her marriage was circulated when she first came to prominence in Minnesota politics in 2016, at which time she issued a statement describing it as "absurd and offensive".
The new film nevertheless promises to investigate, "the controversies and deceptions of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar by looking behind the charges of racist anti-Jew bigotry and allegations that originated from within the Somali community - allegations that the immigrant turned member of Congress committed immigration fraud by marrying her own brother to provide him residency and education".
One particularly ludicrous scene finds Loomer visiting representative Omar's home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attempting to serve her with "a sworn affidavit swearing under penalty of perjury that she has never married any of her biological siblings".
Waiting on her doorstep in the snow for almost an entire minute, Loomer desperately peers inside and insists "the lights are on".
She is eventually forced to turn to her producer off-camera and conclude:
Well, no answer. I guess we're just going to have to go try her office, right?
The scene is so unimpressive it's almost magnificent.
Later, Wohl and Loomer again fail to track down Omar at her constituency office, concluding the address is a "sham" rather than that the congresswoman must simply be out for the day.
Ultimately, they never find her and Wohl is forced to engineer drama for the film by fabricating death threats against himself from fake Twitter accounts.
Louis Theroux must be heart-broken, the tears welling in his eyes as he contemplates a once-great broadcasting career in tatters before the might of such exceptional citizen journalism.
More: Does Melania Trump really use a body double? Trump says no
Top 100
