Latest details on attack against Rep. Omar

Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was assaulted last night during a town hall in Minneapolis. A man sprayed her with an unknown substance in front of dozens of people, as she called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to step down. The man was quickly tackled to the ground. Police say 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak was booked for third degree assault. He has had 10 DUIs and is being held at the county jail on an assault charge awaiting his first court appearance. The congresswoman vowed not to be intimidated. Here is 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 us. [CHEERING]

Representative Omar was uninjured. It's unclear what the substance squirted at her was, but people there said it smelled foul. Let's bring in CBS News Political Reporter Zak Hudak. Zak, what charges could the suspect be facing? And what do we know about him? Lindsey, as you said, the suspect is being held under suspicion of third degree assault. That is, frankly, a relatively minor charge. It carries a sentencing maximum of five years in jail. Now, US Capitol Police, on the other hand, say they are working with federal prosecutors and plan to pursue the most serious charges possible. Now, some things they could be pursuing are assaulting a member of Congress, which would carry a maximum of 10 years in prison. They could also be pursuing assaulting a federal officer, which, this could be argued, was a case of because Omar was conducting a town hall, an official duty of a member of Congress. That actually has a potential penalty of up to 20 years. So there are some more serious charges that could come up. But we have seen President Trump on Truth Social talk about this attack and suggest that, perhaps, Omar staged the attack in one form or another. And we have to keep in mind that those federal prosecutors, at the end of the day, report to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is a close ally of the president. So we will see what comes of Capitol Police's talks with those federal prosecutors. We're going to get more into that with Fin in a minute. But US Capitol Police have released new information about the rise in investigations regarding members of Congress. What do you know? We know, Lindsey, that threats are going up tremendously. We saw a 5,000-threat increase-- these are statements. They are conduct, different things that Capitol Police has to look into. But it went from just under 10,000 to just under 15,000 from two years ago to this past year. It actually also is interesting to note that it's been increasing for three years in a row. We saw a slight downtick after 2021. In 2021, we saw a major increase in these threats as a result of the claims about election fraud. But we are back on the rise. And I think where we're seeing this play out is it is no longer as attractive to be a member of Congress if you have this target on your back. There are 60 members of the House and Senate who are not going to be running for re-election in this midterm cycle, the most since 1992. So this really is having an impact on who is in Congress for us. Zak Hudak, thank you. CBS News Chief Correspondent Matt Gutman spoke earlier today with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in Minneapolis and asked him if he blames President Trump for this attack on Congresswoman Omar. The president constantly attacks Representative Omar, attacks her citizenship, attacks the very decency of it. And we've asked him time and time again to stop it. I don't believe he's capable of stopping it. I keep coming back to this-- the decency of the American people is going to have to speak up. Here to discuss this and more is CBS News Political Director Fin Gomez. So, as Zak mentioned, in an interview with ABC News last night, the president said, quote, "she probably had herself sprayed, knowing her." Is there any evidence of that? And what's been the reaction? And why does this congresswoman seem to be such a frequent target for the president? No, Lindsey, at this point, there has not been any sort of evidence of that occurring. And the investigation, obviously, is still ongoing. But there has not been any sort of evidence of that. I think it's important to note, also, that we don't know why this man attacked Congresswoman Omar at her town hall yesterday with an unknown liquid. But it has brought attention to the fact, you saw in that clip by Governor Walz, that Omar has long been an anathema to the president and his conservative allies for her outspoken progressive stances, for years-- really, since, if you remember, really becoming a member of that so-called "Squad," the group of progressive congressional lawmakers. Democrats have pointed to the harsh and frequent criticism towards Omar from the president. Just yesterday, ahead of her town hall attack, Lindsey, President Trump also spoke out against the Minnesota Congresswoman at a rally in Iowa, which happened just hours before her town hall. Take a listen. They have to show that they can love our country. They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar. Did you see what-- [CROWD BOOING] Did you see that wise guy? She was always talking about the Constitution provides me with the following. The Constitution-- she comes from a country that's a disaster. It's probably-- it's considered, I think, the worst-- 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.

Other Democrats, like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a tweet, have blamed the attack on Omar and pointed towards the rhetoric by the president and vice president, saying that their slanderous public attacks is the reason why she was assaulted at the town hall. Lindsey. And the president and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis are having a back and forth. The mayor saying, look, we had a great conversation, but we're still not going to enforce immigration law. The president posting he's playing with fire. What's going on here? This seemed to be improving, but this clash between President Trump and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey appears to be escalating over the federal immigration enforcement. In a Truth Social post this morning, Trump warned that the mayor he's, quote, "playing with fire" after Frey said the city will not enforce federal immigration laws. Trump called that position a serious violation of the law. Frey pushed back, saying local police should focus on public safety, not immigration enforcement, arguing that the community trust is key and that people should feel safe calling 911, especially after the controversial deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. Lindsey.

OK. Fin Gomez, thank you.