Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara apologized to the Somali community for a comment he made connecting «East African kids» to crime.

«The Somali community here in Minneapolis has been welcoming and has shown love towards me, and I appreciate it,» O’Hara said at a news conference on Thursday. «Over the last three years we have been working together to try and address some of the real serious problems that we have in our community.»

«We have to be honest at times with the problems that we’re having in our community, and we need our community to help us fix those problems together because it’s real and it’s serious. At the same time, if people have taken anything that i have said out of context in a way that’s caused harm, I apologize, and I’m sorry for that because that’s not my intention at all,» O’Hara added.

In an interview with WCCO earlier this month, O’Hara was speaking about a deadly Halloween shooting as well as juvenile crime plaguing the city when he made the comment. Alpha News reported that the Dinkytown area, where the shooting took place, has seen a series of crimes including assaults, robberies, shootings and auto thefts.

TRUMP TERMINATES DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR SOMALI NATIONALS LIVING IN MINNESOTA ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

During the interview, he stated that the young people committing the crimes were not «poor kids from Minneapolis,» but rather kids that come from out of town who take «mommy’s Mercedes-Benz to Dinkytown, and they don’t know where they are.»

«Groups of kids, groups of East African kids that are coming from surrounding communities and not just one community, kind of all over the place,» O’Hara told WCCO.

After the interview, a petition on Change.org demanded an apology from O’Hara, saying that the East African community of Minneapolis «has already been carrying the weight of unfair scrutiny for years» and that the chief’s comment would «deepen that burden.»

The Minneapolis Somali community has faced scrutiny on a national level in recent days after a bombshell report revealed a series of alleged financial schemes that ended with terrorists getting taxpayer dollars. Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo of the Manhattan Institute found that Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked terrorist organization in Somalia, was receiving funds that could be traced back to Minnesota.

«Every scrap of economic activity, in the Twin Cities, in America, throughout Western Europe, anywhere Somalis are concentrated, every cent that is sent back to Somalia benefits Al-Shabaab in some way,» a former official who worked on the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force told Thorpe and Rufo.

Women walk along a tree-lined street in Minneapolis’ Cedar–Riverside neighborhood, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the U.S. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Following the report, President Donald Trump announced he was ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota. 

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS if nationals cannot return safely or if the country «is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.» Countries currently under TPS are Burma, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.

«Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!,» Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Rufo, one of the authors of the bombshell report, said Trump’s announcement was a «great start» but that there is still more work to do.

«Canceling TPS for Minnesota Somalis is a great start. Next: review all asylum, refugee, and citizenship applications for any hint of fraud or technical error; then initiate denaturalizations and mass deportations up to the furthest limits of the law. They have to go home,» Rufo wrote on X.

Women walk along a tree-lined street in Minneapolis’ Cedar–Riverside neighborhood, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the U.S. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn, who praised Trump’s decision, wrote a letter on Friday to U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen demanding an investigation. The letter was also signed by Emmer’s fellow Minnesota Republicans, Rep. Pete Stauber, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, and Rep. Brad Finstad.

«It is alleged that Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the nation, has been sending millions back to Somalia via the hawala network, an informal money trafficking network which is notorious for funds ending up in terrorist networks, and in this instance, Al-Shabaab,» the letter reads.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) speaks during a press conference with members of the Republican Study Committee and other members of House Republican leadership, on the 28th day of the government shutdown in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2025.  (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The lawmakers cited the various cases involving members of the Somali community, including the Feeding our Future fraud scheme, fraud in the Housing Stabilization Services program, Child Care Assistance program and Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program.

«It is bad enough that these individuals are defrauding our state, taking services and funds away from children and the most vulnerable, but now there is a good reason to believe that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are going straight into terrorists’ hands. These new allegations present not only a serious betrayal of taxpayer trust, but also a grave threat to our national security,» the letter states.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.

Tensión interna

Donald Trump aceptó la apertura de los archivos del caso Epstein. Foto: REUTERS

El caso Jeffrey Epstein

La legisladora republicana Marjorie Taylor Greene renunció tras un fuerte encontronazo con Donald Trump. Foto: REUTERS

Having covered Ukraine … and Russia … for over three decades, especially the war between the two countries for the last several years, I’ve naturally been fascinated by the latest Trump administration effort to broker peace.

The reaction I’ve been getting from contacts in Ukraine to the 28-point plan to end the war is not all that positive.  

«It’s not worth the paper it’s written on,» said one observer.

«Any deal would have to include Ukraine…and Europe,» noted another. 

The overall consensus of analysts is that the document is slanted heavily towards Moscow. The man at the center of things, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been diplomatic in various statements, basically saying he’s «reviewing the points» aiming at arriving at a «dignified peace.»

US AND RUSSIA DRAFT PEACE PLAN FOR UKRAINE REQUIRING MAJOR CONCESSIONS FROM KYIV

There are all sorts of talks happening now between the U.S. and Ukraine and among European leaders. We’re even hearing from Russian President Vladmimir Putin. It’s no wonder: The stakes in this war for Europe and the world are enormous. If I were to send a quick note to Zelenskyy, it would go something like this: 

Dear Volodymyr, 

So far so good. You haven’t freaked out, and you’re promising to engage. Rejection of this plan out of hand would have been a non-starter.

TRUMP, ZELENSKYY AGREE ON CRUCIAL ASPECT TO END UKRAINE WAR: ‘GOOD COMPROMISE’ 

You’re staying cool (though a bit grim and determined), and you’re talking to people. 

My overall advice is … pick your fights, don’t sweat the small stuff, and keep the big picture in mind. 

I know what your country is going through. Every time I’m in Kyiv, I go to the same military cemetery outside the city, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger and sadder.

TRUMP’S FIRE FADES ON RUSSIA AS HE PULLS TROOPS, AVOIDS PRESSING XI ON OIL 

So, as to the points of the plan: There are a lot easy «gimmes» to Russia. Re-joining the G-8. Gradual dropping of sanctions. Granting of amnesty for everything Russian troops have done. I know this stuff is going to stick in your craw, but little of it affects your country’s future. 

Memorial flags and photos commemorate fallen Ukrainian soldiers amid the ongoing war with Russia. (Fox News)

I mentioned that you shouldn’t «sweat the small stuff.» Some of the points might sound like a big deal. Like prohibiting «Nazi ideology» in Ukraine. And adopting «EU rules on religious tolerance and linguistic minorities.» That’s pretty much window-dressing for Moscow. Having the Russian language and Russian church regain official status is not horrendous. 

In fact, the plan’s glass is at least one-third full for you guys. Confirming your sovereignty. Russia expected not to invade you again. You will receive reliable security guarantees. Rebuilding pledges and humanitarian promises. They are all good. Just nail down the specifics. Get all sides to commit for sure.

COULD TRUMP’S GAZA CEASEFIRE PLAN OFFER A BLUEPRINT FOR PEACE IN UKRAINE? 

Now to three of the points which cross, according to analysts, your red line. 

Like handing over the rest of the eastern Donetsk region to Russia even though Moscow’s troops haven’t even taken it. The region is referred to as a demilitarized zone in the plan. A «DMZ» ala the divider between North and South Korea. Well, hold them to that. No troops from either side. Tough security on both sides. A neutral body running things. And see if you can get them to not call it Russian!

Then there’s the reduction by a third of your military. Troop strength limited to 600,000. That’s a huge cut, but it’s still not a bad-sized force. That is if…it was properly trained, well-armed, and finely-positioned.  Guarantees are needed for all of this to happen.

Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reports live from Kyiv, Ukraine, as the U.S. House approves a long-stalled aid package for Ukraine. (Fox News)

ZELENSKYY WARNS UKRAINE FACES ‘DIFFICULT CHOICE’ AS US PEACE PLAN HITS MAJOR HURDLE 

And then there’s the other red line : No NATO troops in Ukraine. That would seem to scupper the plan to have foreign peace-keepers on the ground, which has been in the works, to monitor the peace. A possible compromise? They’re stationed around Ukraine’s borders, surveillance keeps a close eye on things and rapid-response forces are at the ready. 

There are also a few gimmes for the U.S. in all this, like sharing in the profits of reconstruction. But that’s the price of doing business with President Trump. 

As for that Thanksgiving deadline to sign the deal? The president has already signaled he’s willing to let that slide if there’s talking. 

And that other deadline? One-hundred days until a new election? I know it’s a tough time for you politically with those corruption charges getting near. It might be something you have to live with. 

Anyway, for what it’s worth, that’s my take. 

Negotiations will probably sink on any hard discussion of any of these main points. But you know what the old adage is : «jaw-jaw» is better than «war-war.» 

For the proud people of Ukraine, who have suffered so much during this time, it’s worth your best shot.

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Sincerely,

Greg