Listen to this article
Average 5 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
A man sprayed an unknown substance at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and threw him to the ground Tuesday during a town hall he hosted in Minneapolis, where tensions over immigration enforcement came to a head after agents fatally shot a hospice nurse and a mother of three this month.
The audience cheered as the man in the black jacket was held down, his arms tied behind his back. In the video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he is spraying something.”
Shortly before that, Omar called for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.
“ICE cannot be reformed,” Omar said.
Minneapolis police said officers saw a man using a syringe to spray an unknown liquid on Omar. They quickly arrested him and booked him into the county jail on a charge of assault, spokesman Trevor Folke said by email. Police also said forensic scientists responded to the scene.
Omar continued to the town hall after the man was escorted out of the room by his bodyguards, saying that he would not be afraid.
US Attorney Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by a man during a Minneapolis town hall he held on Tuesday night. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in Minnesota following two shootings of immigrants this month.
There was a strong, vinegar-like odor when the man administered the injection, according to an Associated Press reporter who was there. Pictures of the machine, which fell to the ground when it was hit, revealed a brown liquid inside.
Coming out afterwards, Omar said he felt distraught but unharmed. He was to be examined by a team of doctors.
‘I don’t let bullies win’
X later posted on social media: “I’m fine. I survived so this little bugger wouldn’t scare me into doing my job. I’m not letting the bullies win. Thanks to my good voters who followed me. Minnesota is strong.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a message from the AP seeking comment.
US President Donald Trump has been a frequent critic of the Democratic congresswoman and stepped up his verbal attacks in recent months as he focused on Minneapolis.
At a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “rubbish” and added that “his friends are rubbish.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar while addressing a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only allow in immigrants who “can show they love our country.”
“They should be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, raising his voice when his name was mentioned.
His US counterpart Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, condemned the attack on Omar.
“I am saddened to hear that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at city hall today,” Mace said on social media X.
“No matter how much I disagree with his words — and I do — no elected official should have to deal with physical attacks. This is not us.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, also condemned X’s attack, saying, “It is unacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can protest without putting people at risk.”
He added that he was relieved Omar was “fine” and thanked police for their quick response, concluding, “This type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
Omar’s attack happened days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly assaulting Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, publicly said during the Sundance Film Festival that Trump would fire him.
Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years, peaking in 2021 and the aftermath of that year’s January 6 attack on the Capitol, before dipping slightly to rise again, according to the latest statistics from the US Capitol Police.
US Capitol Police say they have investigated nearly 15,000 statements or communications involving members of Congress, their families and staff by 2025.
Legislators discussed the coolness of the threats brought by their ability to conduct town halls and public events, some even mentioned it in their decisions not to seek re-election.
After Omar’s attack, Capitol Police said in a statement that the agency is “working with our federal partners to see this man face serious charges to stop this type of violence in our community.”
Minneapolis has been reeling from the shooting deaths of two citizens by federal immigration agents this month during a major immigration operation.
Intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was killed Saturday, less than three weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed behind the wheel of her car.
