Somali refugee joins Maine city council despite gun charges and residency red flags

A Maine city council has voted to launch an investigation into a newly sworn-in member amid criminal charges and allegations that he provided a false home address.

On Monday, the Lewiston City Council swore in Iman Osman, 36, and, on the same day, voted to initiate an investigation into him.

‘Stepping down would be the right thing to do.’

Osman, a Somali refugee, was slapped with gun-theft charges in early December after he was accused of receiving, retaining, or disposing of a firearm or explosive device, knowing or believing it had been stolen from an individual’s estate. He was also accused of committing theft by obtaining or exercising unauthorized control of a firearm or explosive device that belonged to a second individual’s estate. The charges relate to two separate incidents that occurred between November 2023 and October 2024.

The Maine Wire reported that Osman also falsely listed a condemned mixed-use building owned by his brother as his residence to secure a mayoral appointment to the Lewiston School Committee and later run for Lewiston City Council’s Ward 5. The property has reportedly been condemned since October 2024 because of a chemical “used as a deterrent for humans in the recent drug raid,” among other issues, according to WMTW.

Critics have argued that Osman does not reside in the ward he was elected to represent and is therefore ineligible to serve.

Mayor Carl Sheline previously nominated Osman to the Lewiston School Committee to fill a vacancy. The city council unanimously appointed him on December 17, 2024, and he completed his term in mid-December 2025.

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Image source: Lewiston City Council YouTube screenshot

Since Osman’s criminal indictments have come to light, Sheline has called on Osman to resign from public office.

“While he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the judicial process will be lengthy and this matter has become an unwelcome distraction from the essential business of governing. Stepping down would be the right thing to do,” Sheline stated.

After winning the city council election in November, Osman was sworn in to the new position during a Monday council meeting, but was immediately met with a vote to open an independent investigation into his residency. Council members voted 6-1 to open the probe, with Osman casting the only dissenting vote.

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Council President David Chittim. Image source: Lewiston City Council YouTube screenshot

Jon Fetherston, a Maine Wire reporter, stated that it is “obvious” Osman is lying about his residency. He expressed concern that the address listed by the council member was linked to a federal drug bust, and he noted that Osman has a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday regarding the gun-theft charges.

“On the very first night of him being sworn in as a city councilor, Mr. Osman took the oath of office and swore to defend the Constitution, yet he then voted on the matter of whether the council should investigate his own residency instead of recusing himself, casting a ‘no’ vote,” Fetherston told Blaze News. “In my almost 40 years of elected office and/or reporting, I have never seen a bigger blow to democracy and disrespect of the election process than what has occurred with Iman Osman and how ‘leadership’ in Lewiston has handled this situation.”

Kiernan Majerus-Collins, Osman’s attorney, stated that his client denies guilt concerning the criminal charges against him, WMTW reported.

“It’s disappointing that the city has decided to continue to drag this out, continue to expend time and money, continue to create unnecessary controversy and impede his ability to do the job that he was elected to do,” Majerus-Collins said.

Councilor President David Chittim explained that the council will determine whether to hold a hearing concerning Osman’s position on the council after it receives the investigative report, which he expects will be completed this month.

“I would like to put this whole issue behind the city of Lewiston, behind the city council,” he said.

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