A Somali refugee has abruptly resigned from Maine's Lewiston City Council just three days into his term, fleeing office amid a mountain of criminal charges and corruption allegations — but rather than taking responsibility, he's playing the racism card.
Iman Osman, 36, who won election to represent Ward 5 in November, announced his resignation this week after being hit with felony charges for receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking. But that's just the tip of the iceberg in this scandal that perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with America's broken immigration and political system.
A Pattern of Fraud and Deception
According to reports, Osman faces serious questions about whether he even legally resided in the ward he was elected to represent — a basic requirement for holding office that apparently doesn't matter when you can cry racism instead of following the law.
Even more shocking, social media users are highlighting how "Somali refugee resigns from Maine city council after his nonprofit took $65,000 meant for mass shooting victims," as Twitter user @judymorris3 exposed. Think about that for a moment — money intended to help victims of tragedy allegedly diverted while this man sought political power.
"Here's Iman Osman, the Somali refugee who is refusing to resign his Lewiston City Council seat despite bipartisan calls for an investigation into his false claims to live in the ward he was elected to," posted @SteveRob before the resignation.
Another user, @ThatGuyTX63, broke the news: "🚨BREAKING: A Somali man who recently won a Maine city council election has resigned after criminal charges were filed against him... Lewiston City Councilor Iman Osman is facing charges of receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking."
The Predictable Playbook
Rather than addressing the serious criminal allegations or the apparent residency fraud, Osman took the predictable route of crying racism and claiming to be the victim. This is the same tired playbook we've seen from corrupt politicians across the country — when caught red-handed, deflect and divide.
The people of Lewiston deserved better than a representative who allegedly couldn't even legally hold the office he was elected to. How many more Iman Osmans are there in positions of power across America, hiding behind cries of discrimination while potentially betraying the very communities they claim to serve?