Politics & Government
Rep. Omar Trolls 'Rightwing Crazies' Pushing Somali Flag Conspiracy
The theory claimed that a proposed flag design resembled the Somali national flag because the state had been "conquered" by Somali refugees.
![Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during an interview before President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22887410/20231220/102420/styles/patch_image/public/ap23039096154219___20102349432.jpg)
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's State Emblems Redesign Commission on Tuesday formally adopted a new state flag, replacing the original one that historians considered racist and vexillologists considered boring.
The chosen design includes the "conceptual" shape of Minnesota in dark blue and the rest of the flag in light blue. The flag also has a single eight-pointed star pointed north on the shape of Minnesota:
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22887410/20231220/095024/styles/raw/public/processed_images/unnamed.png)
But one of the final flag designs that ultimately wasn't selected ended up going viral due to a right-wing conspiracy theory involving Rep. Ilhan Omar and the Somali national flag.
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The theory claimed that Minnesota's new flag resembled the Somali national flag because the state had been "conquered" by Omar and Somali refugees.
But posts from "End Wokeness" and other right-wing accounts shared images of a proposed flag design that was not ultimately chosen as the new state flag.
Find out what's happening in Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the West. Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) is from Puntland. Minnesota just unveiled their new flag. I'm sure this is just a coincidence: pic.twitter.com/yayoteQoXE
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 17, 2023
It’s official! I’m loving the new Minnesota state flag. And I hate to break it to the rightwing crazies, but I had nothing to do with the new design. 😜 pic.twitter.com/8cyF2WKsZI
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 19, 2023
On Tuesday, End Wokeness began spreading a claim that the Emblem Commission made "last-minute changes" to the new state flag "following intense backlash against the original redesign."
In fact, the "original design" the account referenced was never selected to be the final version of the flag.
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