A man was arrested Tuesday after spraying an unknown substance at Representative Ilhan Omar during a town hall event.
The suspect used a syringe to spray the congresswoman, who was addressing supporters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, about the ongoing protests against ICE.
Despite being sprayed by a liquid described by eyewitnesses as having a foul odor, Omar remained on the stage.
“These f***ing ***holes are not going to get away with it,” she said in footage recorded by C-Span. “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. I learned at a young age that you don’t give into threats.”
The substance that Omar was sprayed with remains unknown, although photographs taken by the Associated Press showed the remains of a light-brown liquid inside the syringe.
Anthony Kazmierczak was later identified by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, who listed the 55-year-old on their jail roster. He has been charged with third-degree assault.
Details about the suspect are still emerging following the attack Tuesday, but a neighbor described him as a “pretty conservative guy” who “doesn’t like Omar.”
Brian Kelly told The New York Post Kazmierczak had asked him to watch his dog while he went to the event.
“He said, ‘I’m going to this Omar thing.’ I’m like, Omar what? He said ‘This town hall thing.’ And he said, ‘I might get arrested,’” Kelley told the outlet. “I figured it was nonsense. He wasn’t going to do anything stupid.”
Kelly claimed Kazmierczak is “heavily medicated” because of a car accident that affected his spine nine years ago and suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
Kazmierczak has a history of sharing posts about politics on social media, on a profile under the name ‘Andy’, including criticism of the Biden administration.
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination last September, his Facebook profile picture was changed to an image of Donald Trump at a Turning Point USA event and later his widow Erika Kirk.
He also shared a post in 2022 blaming Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison for ‘rampant crime’ in the state and calling for him to go.
