The Democratic Representative swore at the attacker but opted to continue her address, according to footage from the scene
Somali-born US Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, a harsh critic of President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement push, has been sprayed with an “unknown liquid” during an event in Minneapolis, police have said.
Tensions are running high in Minnesota’s largest city in the wake of the fatal shootings of anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activists Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday by federal agents.
Omar was attacked in the middle of her town hall speech on Tuesday evening, in which she called for the abolition of ICE and demanded that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem “resign or face impeachment.”
Footage from the scene captured a man lunging towards the Minnesota congresswoman and spraying her with an unknown substance from a syringe. The attacker is heard shouting “you must resign” before being brought to the ground by security.
WARNING! EXPLICIT LANGUAGE:
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
The organizers of the town hall urged Omar to stop her address and “get checked,” but she refused, saying that this “is what they want. We will continue. These f*ing aholes are not going to get away with this.”
The man was removed from the room and later arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault. He was identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, police said. The liquid that the attacker used so far remains “unknown,” it added.
One of the witnesses in the footage is heard saying that the substance had a foul smell. According to photos from the town hall, the syringe contained a brown-colored liquid.
“Representative Omar was uninjured and resumed speaking at the event,” police said. The lawmaker’s office also confirmed that she was “OK.”
When asked by ABC News if he had seen the video of the attack on Omar, Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the congresswoman in recent weeks, said: “No. I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
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The incident comes after the president’s pledge to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota. Media reported on Tuesday that Trump had decided to pull the controversial “commander at large” of the US Border Patrol, Gregory Bovino, out of Minneapolis following the shootings.
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