Jan. 27 (UPI) — Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked during a town hall Tuesday in Minneapolis by a man who sprayed a substance on the congresswoman as she spoke. Minneapolis police said the assailant was arrested.
Omar, D-Minn., was speaking behind a lectern to constituents against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis when a man sitting in the front row of seats stood up and sprayed her with an unknown substance while yelling something unintelligible at her.
A second man, apparently a Minneapolis police officer, then grabbed the man from behind and tackled him to the ground, where others joined in detaining the assailant.
The town hall was streamed online by C-SPAN. In the broadcast, someone is heard asking Omar if she knew what the man attacked her with. The person also remarked that it had a strong, offensive odor.
“I don’t know,” the congresswoman replied.
Members of the audience gasped. Someone said, “Oh my God!”
Omar resisted calls to get checked and continued the town hall.
“We’re going to keep talking,” Omar said.
“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 at us.”
Omar then continued from where she was interrupted, calling for the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as the assailant was removed from the room.
The Minneapolis Police Department told UPI in an emailed statement that officers working the event immediately arrested the assailant, who was booked into Hennepin County Jail on third-degree assault charges.
MPD said the man used “a syringe to spray an unknown liquid” onto Omar, who was uninjured in the incident.
“Minneapolis forensic scientists responded to process the scene,” it said.
The department identified the suspect to UPI in a statement as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55.
U.S. Capitol Police told UPI that “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 suspect’s identity has not been made public.
Omar’s office released a statement shortly afterward, confirming that the congresswoman “was okay.”
“She continued with her town hall because she doesn’t let bullies win,” it said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) assaulted during town hall meeting: “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.” pic.twitter.com/Ud5l3yP4lQ— CSPAN (@cspan) January 28, 2026
Omar, a Democrat and Somali immigrant, has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump, who has targeted the congresswoman with personal insults and highly inflammatory language since his first administration.
In a Jan. 18 Truth Social post, Trump said Omar “hates the USA” and “should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia.”
Prior to Omar speaking, Trump on Tuesday criticized Omar in a speech in Iowa, questioning her patriotism, a theme he has repeatedly raised in criticisms of the congresswoman.
On Monday, Trump announced that the Department of Justice, as well as Congress, was investigating Omar’s finances, claiming she was worth $44 million. It was not clear where the president was citing that figure from.
Omar responded to Trump, accusing the president of trying to distract the public.
“Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” she said in a statement published to her personal X account.
“Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, described the attack as “behavior that will not be tolerated in our city,” while Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a staunch Trump ally, said that while she disagrees with Omar, “no elected official should face physical attacks.”
Others, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, blamed Trump’s targeting of Omar for encouraging the alleged assault.
“Let’s be clear, nonstop hate and dangerous rhetoric from Trump and his allies has fueled this type of violence,” she said on X.
Omar was holding the town hall to address her constituents amid high tensions in Minneapolis where federal immigration officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown in recent weeks.
The surge of thousands of federal immigration law enforcement agents to the city has been met with protests, while activists and civil and immigration rights advocates have accused the agents of due process violations, detaining U.S. citizens, racial profiling and using excessive force.
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