Man charges at Rep. Ilhan Omar and sprays her with substance at town hall
A man sprayed Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar with an unknown liquid at a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday, but she vowed not to be intimidated and declined to immediately leave the event to get checked out.
The alleged perpetrator — whom local police identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak — was immediately apprehended and was booked into Hennepin County Jail for third degree assault, the Minneapolis Police Department told CBS News. Police said Omar was not injured.
Omar, a Democrat, was calling for the abolishment of ICE and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when a man sitting in the front row rushed up to her and sprayed her with a substance while yelling at her. Local police said he used a syringe.
Security personnel grabbed the man, who was led out of the room in handcuffs, while other staff tried to get Omar to leave.
Omar refused, saying, "We will continue. These f***ing a**holes are not going to get away with it!"
"Here's the reality that people like this ugly man don't understand: We are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us," Omar said, before continuing to speak and take questions for almost 30 minutes.
Someone in attendance said that whatever was sprayed "smells so bad" and urged Omar to "go get checked."
The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement: "Tonight, a man is in custody after he decided to assault a Member of Congress – an unacceptable decision that will be met with swift justice."
"We are now working with our federal partners to see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society," the agency continued.
Omar later posted on X that she's OK.
"I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work," she wrote. "I don't let bullies win."
It is not clear whether Kazmierczak is represented by an attorney. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.
Earlier on Tuesday President Trump, who often criticizes Omar and Somali-Americans, said in a speech in Iowa that Somali-Americans "have to show that they can love our country. They have to be proud. Not like Ilhan Omar. ... This wise guy, you know, she's always talking about the Constitution - 'You know, provides me with the following. You know, the Constitution.' She comes from a country that's a disaster. It's probably - it's considered ... it's not even a country, OK? It barely has a government. I don't think it does. They're good at one thing: pirates. But they don't do that anymore."
The incident at Omar's event comes during a tense period in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by two Customs and Border Protection agents on Saturday, which prompted days of protests.
Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to the Twin Cities area since last month as part of a crackdown by the Trump administration that has drawn stiff criticism from Omar and other local politicians.
Omar is the second House Democrat to be physically confronted in recent days. In an unrelated incident, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida said Saturday he was assaulted during an event at the Sundance Film Festival. Local police in Park City, Utah, alleged that a man "unlawfully entered a private party" and assaulted the congressman and one other person. He was arrested on charges of simple assault and aggravated burglary, police said.
Members of Congress have faced a significant uptick in threats in recent years. The U.S. Capitol Police says it investigated 14,938 threats and concerning statements against lawmakers, their families and their staff last year, up from 9,474 in 2024 and 8,000 in 2023.
Omar, the first Somali-American elected to Congress, has spoken frequently about the death threats she has received, many of which have included racist or Islamophobic language.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the U.S. Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats in 2024.
