The Somali woman who went viral for a bizarre rant about “bananas and rice” after claiming she suffered a concussion when ICE “kidnapped” her has now been arrested for assaulting federal law enforcement during a riot in Minnesota.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that 16 anti-ICE rioters were arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with federal agents engaged in official duties in Minneapolis.
Among those charged under 18 U.S. Code Section 111 was Nasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old Somali-American from Saint Paul whose rambling speech about Somali identity, bananas, and rice recently went viral online.
Ahmed had held a press conference last week at the Minnesota Capitol alongside Democrat state Rep. Samakab Hussein.
She accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of “kidnapping” her, claimed agents roughed her up, and launched into a meandering monologue about Somali culture.
“I got kidnapped by ICE,” Ahmed said at the event, wearing a bandage on her head beneath her Islamic veil.
“ICE came to my neighborhood, where — my neighborhood is a very Somali neighborhood.
“It’s a predominantly Somali neighborhood.
“There’s many Somalis that live here.”
Ahmed said she became involved after seeing two Somali men running from federal agents outside an apartment complex on January 14.
She claimed she complied when agents asked for her identification.
Video footage appears to show a woman believed to be Ahmed spitting in the face of a federal agent during the confrontation.
This is the moment a U.S. citizen born and raised in Minnesota was detained in St. Paul. She was released Friday evening. This should NEVER happen. This is becoming routine. 🎥 swagger4677 https://t.co/DD67KgzfMR pic.twitter.com/KNuBuBzRlz
— Mohamud Noor (@mohamudnoor) January 17, 2026
Following the apparent spitting assault, Ahmed was reportedly arrested and taken to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, then briefly held at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River pending potential federal felony charges.
Speaking at the Capitol days later, after being released without charges, Ahmed claimed an ICE agent used a racial slur against her and alleged she suffered a concussion during the arrest.
“They arrested and detained me for two days, and I was put in county jail,” Ahmed said.
“Then there was this ICE agent who called me a racial slur.”
“I am proud to say I have survived ICE,” she added.
“Many people are saying, including my family and friends, that I will go down in history, and I will carry this on my shoulders.”
While Ahmed’s claims were embraced by Democrats such as Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and other anti-ICE activists, the portion of her speech that exploded online was her rambling explanation of Somali identity using food metaphors:
“I’m Somali. I’m proud to be Somali,” she told the press.
“To me, being Somali isn’t just eating bananas with rice.
“It’s a, it’s a lot, it’s like a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s an interesting thing.
“It’s a — it’s very hard to describe what means to be Somali and what it means to be American, but it’s like a cultural fusion.
“It’s kind of like the bananas and rice, you know?
“People don’t really see like — you know it’s a, it’s a, it’s — you know, people don’t think, ‘Oh, you can eat bananas with rice,’ but that’s what it’s like to be Somali and American.
“It’s like that combination of banana and rice, but you’re gonna get what I mean.”
WATCH:
Importing people from a country with an average IQ in the mid 60's means you brought in a bunch of retards.
They aren't banana or rice but they are like banana and rice. I lost two IQ points listening. pic.twitter.com/Ls8VGgCJ5j
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) January 23, 2026
As Ahmed was building her public profile, the U.S. State Department paused immigrant visa processing from Somalia, listing it among 75 countries whose migrants “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.”
A recent report from the Center for Immigration Studies found that in Minnesota, approximately 54% of Somali-headed households receive food stamps, and 73% have at least one member on Medicaid, compared with 7% and 18% for native households.
President Donald Trump addressed the issue last month in blunt terms.
“Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars,” Trump said.
“Billions every year.
“Billions of dollars, and they contribute nothing.
“The welfare is like 88%,” he noted.
“They contribute nothing.
“I don’t want them in our country; I’ll be honest with you.
“Some might say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care.
“I don’t want them in our country.
“Their country is no good for a reason.
“Their country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country.”
Despite her arrest, Ahmed is now soliciting money from sympathizers, launching a GoFundMe campaign seeking $20,000 “to support her in this difficult moment.”
As of publication, the fundraiser had collected nearly $2,000.
Addressing the arrests, Bondi issued a firm warning.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.”
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