“We are Minnesota strong”: Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked at town hall
While Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spoke at a town hall in Minneapolis Tuesday evening, criticizing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a man rushed her and sprayed a strong smelling liquid on her from a syringe.
The man, identified as Anthony Kazmierczak, went up to the podium directly after Omar said, “We must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.”
Kazmierczak, 55, sprayed the representative with an orange liquid before being tackled by security. He was arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, Minneapolis police said.
The unidentified liquid was described as strong smelling and also hit two other law makers, a Minneapolis City Council member LaTrisha Vetaw and State Senator Bobby Joe Champion.
The video of the attack shows Omar pressing to continue the town hall after the event. “Just give me 10 minutes. I beg you. Please don’t let them have the show,” she said to security.
NEW — Rep. Ilhan Omar was just charged by a man at a town hall event in Minneapolis. Crowd says he “sprayed her” with something.
You can hear Omar demand to continue the town hall — and she’s back to speaking now from the podium. pic.twitter.com/4OpSWHo0Z9
— Jay O’Brien (@jayobtv) January 28, 2026
“Here’s the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand,” she said to the crowd. “We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”
Omar has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump for many years as he has targeted her Somali heritage and more recently tried tying her to the state’s welfare fraud scandal, which many believe involved Minnesota’s Somali diaspora.
“I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” Trump said to ABC News when informed of the attack. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” The president said he had not seen the video of Omar’s attack before making these comments.
Omar later posted a statement saying she was OK. “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win,” she said. “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said this was “unacceptable” on Bluesky following the incident. “Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk,” he said. “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
Even some of Omar’s strong opponents came out against the attack. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a Trump ally who has called Omar an “enemy of the state,” said the attack deeply disturbed her.
“Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks,” Mace said on X. “This is not who we are.”
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