(MINNEAPOLIS) — During a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday, a man charged the podium where Rep. Ilhan Omar was giving remarks, appeared to squirt a liquid at her and was then tackled to the ground by a security guard after a brief struggle.
The man, identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak was arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, Minneapolis police said.
The department said its officers were at the town hall for the event and observed a man use a syringe to spray an unknown liquid on to the congresswoman.
The incident sparked cries of alarm from those in attendance. The congresswoman did not appear to be injured.
“I’m going to finish my remarks. It is important for me to continue,” Omar said, using a profanity.
“We will continue,” she said. “These f—— a——- are not going to get away with it!”
The disturbance comes amid tensions in Minneapolis between local officials and the Trump administration over the immigration crackdown in the city that has seen two U.S. citizens killed in shootings involving federal agents.
Shortly before the man charged the podium, Omar called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Afterward, she told reporters that she won’t be intimidated.
“You know, I’ve survived more, and I’m definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think that they can throw at me because I’m built that way,” she said.
Omar has been the target of attacks from President Donald Trump for years. More recently, his attacks have come alongside escalated rhetoric describing the Somali community in Minnesota, the largest in the nation.
In the past several weeks, Trump has called Omar a “fake sleazebag,” and called for her to be thrown out of the U.S.
In a phone interview Tuesday evening with ABC News’ Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott, Trump said he hadn’t seen video of the incident and without providing evidence accused Omar of staging the attack.
“I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” Trump said. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
In a post on X regarding Tuesday’s incident, Omar said: “I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
In a statement, U.S. Capitol Police said: “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.” The department said it is “working with our federal partners to see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society.”
Capitol Police said threats against members of Congress increased for the third year in a row. The department said it investigated 14,938 concerning statements, behaviors and communications directed against members of Congress, their families and their staff last year — compared to 9,474 in 2024.
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