Democrats tried to send $1 million to ‘East African’ addiction center above a Somali restaurant with ties to ISIS, Ernst says

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said in a social media post that she stopped Democrats from sending $1 million to an addiction center with ties to ISIS, and has called for a fraud investigation.

She went on to say that Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah helped her stop the funds, but called on the Department of Justice to investigate the alleged fraud scheme.

‘It is undeniable that expressing admiration for someone who sought to commit atrocities against the United States raises most serious concerns.’

The center was located above a Somali restaurant that was run by three people who live in the same house, and they have a relative who tried to join ISIS, according to Ernst.

She posted a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding an investigation into Generation Hope MN that is based in Minneapolis. The organization was established in 2019 and is described as a Somali-led addiction recovery and substance use disorder center.

Ernst said the group lists on their 501(c)(3) non-profit application three people as directors who live at the same address. She documented the organization’s spending profile and said it suggests “minimal direct services, opaque financial reporting, and heavy reliance on contractor payments,” which she said “should trigger immediate scrutiny, not federal taxpayer dollars.”

In addition, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame was arrested in 2015 along with nine others for preparing to travel to Syria in order to join the ISIS terrorist group. He is the older brother of Generation Hope MN founder Abdirahman Warsame.

The older Warsame agreed to a plea deal that included a 30-month sentence.

“Should someone with such associations be considered worthy of taxpayer funding?” she wrote. “We do not know Abdirizak Warsame’s current views on ISIS or its goals, nor how his influence may shape his brother’s actions and aspirations, but it is undeniable that expressing admiration for someone who sought to commit atrocities against the United States raises most serious concerns.”

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Abdirahman Warsame responded to the accusations in a post on the Facebook page for the organization and denied many of the claims.

“To be clear, Generation Hope has never committed fraud, or submitted falsified paperwork. In addition, we have not received any federal funding related to this proposed request,” the statement reads.

“Generation Hope is a grassroots organization rooted in the community at large, created from a place of pain and hope for the future,” he added. “We have served the recovery community for nearly seven years, and we plan to continue to do so.”

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