Man arrested after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at
Minneapolis town hall
[January 28, 2026]
By LAURA BARGFELD and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man sprayed an unknown substance on Democratic U.S.
Rep. Ilhan Omar and was tackled to the ground Tuesday during a town hall
in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have
come to a head after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a
mother of three this month.
The audience cheered as the man was pinned down and his arms were tied
behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be
heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.”
Just before that Omar had called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
to resign or face impeachment. Calls are mounting on Capitol Hill for
Noem to step down after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people
who protested deportations. Few Republicans have risen to her defense.
“ICE cannot be reformed,” Omar said, seconds before the attack.
Minneapolis police said officers saw the man use a syringe to spray an
unknown liquid at Omar. They immediately arrested him and booked him at
the county jail for third-degree assault, spokesperson Trevor Folke
said. Forensic scientists responded to the scene.
Police identified the man as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak. It was not
immediately clear if Kazmierczak had an attorney. The county public
defenders’ office could not immediately be reached.
Omar continued speaking for about 25 more minutes after the man was
ushered out by security, saying she would not be intimidated.
There was a strong, vinegarlike smell after the man pushed on the
syringe, according to an Associated Press journalist who was there.
Photos of the device, which fell to the ground when he was tackled,
showed what appeared to be a light-brown liquid inside. There was no
immediate word from officials on what it was.
Minneapolis Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said some of the substance
also came into contact with her and state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion. She
called it a deeply unsettling experience.
No one in the crowd of about 100 people had a noticeable physical
reaction to the substance.
Omar says she is OK and ‘a survivor’
Walking out afterward, Omar said she felt a little flustered but was not
hurt. She was going to be screened by a medical team.
She later posted on the social platform X: “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.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment
Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and
has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his
focus on Minneapolis. During a Cabinet meeting in December, he referred
to her as “garbage."
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a
crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants
who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos
at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s
considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Omar is a U.S. citizen who fled her birthplace, Somalia, with her family
at age 8 as a civil war tore apart the country.
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A man is tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance
on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall on Tuesday,
Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune
via AP)
The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to about 84,000 people of
Somali descent — nearly a third of Somalis living in the U.S.
Officials condemn the attack
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expressed gratitude that Omar was
safe, adding in a post on X: “Our state has been shattered by
political violence in the last year. The cruel, inflammatory,
dehumanizing rhetoric by our nation’s leaders needs to stop
immediately.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, also denounced
the assault.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at
a town hall today” Mace said. “Regardless of how vehemently I
disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should
face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called the attack
“unacceptable.” He said he was relieved that Omar “is OK” and
thanked police for their quick response, concluding: “This kind of
behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
The city has been reeling from the fatal shootings of two residents
by federal immigration agents this month during Trump's massive
immigration enforcement surge. Intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti
was killed Saturday, less than three weeks after Renee Good was
fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle.
Lawmakers face rising threats
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly
punching U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the
face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to
deport him.
Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years,
peaking in 2021 in the aftermath of that year’s Jan. 6 attack on the
U.S. Capitol, before dipping slightly only to climb again, according
to the most recent figures from the U.S. Capitol Police.
Lawmakers have discussed the impact on their ability to hold town
halls and public events, with some even citing the threat
environment in their decisions not to seek reelection.
Following the assault on Omar, U.S. Capitol Police said in a
statement that the agency was “working with our federal partners to
see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this
kind of violence in our society.”
It also released updated numbers detailing threats to members of
Congress: 14,938 “concerning statements, behaviors, and
communications directed against lawmakers, their families, staff and
the Capitol Complex" in 2025.
That is a sharp increase from 2024, when the number of cases was
9,474, according to USCP. It is the third year in a row that the
number of threats has increased.
Capitol Police have beefed up security measures across all fronts
since Jan. 6, 2021, and the department has seen increased reporting
after a new center was launched two years ago to process reports of
threats.
___
Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers
Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Mike Balsamo, Lisa Mascaro and Michelle
Price in Washington, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Farnoush Amiri in
New York contributed to this report.
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