Donald Trump has sparked outrage for claiming that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar orchestrated her own attack at a town hall on Tuesday.
Omar, a frequent target of Trump’s, was speaking at a town hall event in Minneapolis when a man stormed towards her with a syringe filled with an unknown substance and sprayed it at her.
It came after Omar had decried ICE and called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “resign or face impeachment” over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Highlights
- Donald Trump claimed Rep. Ilhan Omar orchestrated her own attack at a Minneapolis town hall without evidence.
- The man who sprayed Omar with an unknown substance was tackled and charged with third-degree assault at the event.
- Omar was unharmed and vowed not to be intimidated, thanking constituents for their support amid high state tensions.
- Tensions rose in Minnesota after ICE killed and wounded civilians during its largest enforcement operation.
Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall with an unknown substance
Image credits: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
The suspect, identified as Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, was tackled to the ground and arrested at the scene. He has been charged with third-degree assault.
Asked about the incident on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Omar was behind the attack, despite not having watched footage of the incident or having any evidence.
“No. I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump told reporters.
When pressed on whether he had watched footage of the incident, he added, “I haven’t seen it. No, no. I hope I don’t have to bother.”
She said in a statement on 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.
“Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in Minnesota as ICE conducts an extensive enforcement operation, its largest to date in the state.
Agents have shot and killed two U.S. citizens and wounded a Venezuelan national since that operation began.
Around one week after that, a Venezuelan national was shot in the leg by ICE agents who were attempting to detain him.
On January 24, ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was videoing federal agents when he was pushed to the ground after attempting to help another protester. Video footage appears to show that he was shot 10 times and killed after an agent disarmed him.
In all three cases, Homeland Security has claimed that the agents involved were acting in self-defense and feared for their lives.
Those justifications have been strongly rejected by local authorities and witnesses, with protests calling for an end to the ICE operation spreading across the state.
Trump was called out for his rhetoric on Omar
Image credits: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Following the attack on Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly called out Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and VP Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall,” AOC said.
“Thank God she is okay. If they want leaders to take down the temp, they need to look in the mirror.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told his supporters in Iowa that immigrants entering the U.S. “have to show that they can love our country,” before adding, “not like Ilhan Omar.”
“She comes from a country that’s a disaster … it’s not even a country, it barely has a government, I don’t think it does,” Trump said.
It is not the first time Trump has specifically targeted Omar, with the president frequently attacking her on social media and during speeches.
He has previously described her as the “worst” congresswoman in the U.S. and said she was “always wrapped in her swaddling hijab.”
Trump has also labeled Omar and other Somali migrants as “garbage.”