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Tensions in Minnesota boiled over again Tuesday night, this time at a town hall event hosted by Rep. Ilhan Omar.
While Omar was at the podium, a man emerged from the crowd, approached, and used a syringe to spray her with an unknown substance.
The congresswoman bravely stood her ground and even approached her assailant before he was tackled and disarmed
The attacker has been identified as a 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak.
According to USA Today, police brought him to the Hennepin County Jail, where he was booked on assault charges.
“Please don’t let them have the show,” Omar said after the attack, asking for a napkin before continuing her remarks. “We will continue … They are not going to get away with this.”
Asked about the attack, President Donald Trump told an ABC News reporter that he believed it was fraudulent.
“I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” Trump said (via USA Today). “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
Asked about video of the attack, Trump had this to say:
“I haven’t seen it. No, no. I hope I don’t have to bother.”
There is no evidence that the attack was staged or that Omar had any advance knowledge of it.
Hours before the attack, Trump hurled harsh criticisms at Omar.
“They have to show that they can love our country,” Trump said, referring to immigrants. “They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar.”
Like most Democrats and even a few Republicans, Omar has been critical of the escalating ICE operations in Minnesota that have already led to the deaths of two American citizens.
Like the state’s governor, Tim Walz, Omar has called on the Trump administration to withdraw ICE and Border Patrol agents from Minnesota before any more lives are lost.
“We will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw on us,” Omar vowed in her remarks.
Thankfully, it appears that the congresswoman was unharmed in Tuesday’s attack.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
