Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar experienced a frightening moment Tuesday evening when a man at a Minneapolis town hall meeting attacked her. The Democratic congresswoman was unharmed in the incident, which occurred as she addressed the controversial federal intervention into Minnesota that has left at least two Minneapolis residents dead.
Omar attacked during a town hall on ICE operations in Minnesota
Omar led a town hall discussion to discuss the ongoing intervention by federal immigration agents in Minnesota when a man from the audience’s front row rushed the podium. Just as Omar called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the resignation or impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the man used a syringe to spray Omar with a brown liquid while yelling at her, with bystanders later remarking that the liquid “smells terrible.” Security quickly tackled and removed the man. Omar then insisted on continuing her remarks, declaring, “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.”
The man who attacked Omar was identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak and was arrested after the incident on third-degree assault charges. Omar’s office posted a social media statement on the incident, saying, “The Congresswoman is okay. She continued with her town hall because she doesn’t let bullies win.”
Despite changing his tone on Minnesota, Trump continues to disparage Omar
Omar, a Somali immigrant who has represented the Minneapolis area in Congress since 2019, has frequently been the target of insulting, Islamophobic and racist remarks by President Donald Trump and other Republicans. The attack against Omar came only hours after Trump again disparaged Omar and Somalia in a speech in Iowa.
After Omar’s attack, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted, “Our state has been shattered by political violence in the last year,” referencing events such as the murder of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband in June. “The cruel, inflammatory, dehumanizing rhetoric by our nation’s leaders needs to stop immediately,” Walz said in his message.
Despite the pleas for toned-down rhetoric, Trump again insulted Omar when asked about the attack against her.
“No. I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that,” the president told journalist Rachel Scott. He added a baseless accusation that “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
Trump’s continued verbal attacks against Omar stand in contrast to his apparent shifts in tone concerning the ongoing federal immigration operation in Minnesota, as outrage continues to grow against ICE and Border Patrol agents over the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Trump recently removed controversial commander Gregory Bovino from the state, while reaching out to Democratic leaders such as Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The White House also walked back the most extreme rhetoric from members of the administration.
So far, however, this shift in tone toward Minnesota has not been extended to Omar or the state’s Somali population. On the contrary, Trump continues to attack Omar and the community from which she comes, even after the congresswoman experienced a frightening incident in a state with a recent history of political violence.