Democratic congresswoman continued with her event after suspect was taken into custody
A man sprayed Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar with an unknown substance while she was addressing a town hall in Minneapolis. She was not injured. Photo: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by a man at her monthly town hall meeting in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, according to her office and video of the incident.
Omar’s security detail and the Minneapolis Police Department immediately apprehended the individual, who rose from the audience and sprayed a liquid at the lawmaker. The suspect was later named as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak and was booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault.
“During her town hall, an agitator tried to attack the congresswoman by spraying an unknown substance with a syringe,” her office said in a statement. “She continued with her town hall, because she doesn’t let bullies win.”
She posted from a personal account on social media: “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me.”
The incident occurred amid political unrest in Minnesota and especially Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal immigration officials this month. Omar denounced the killings and said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is “out of control” and should have its funding stripped.
Omar, 43 years old, first gained national attention for her role in a group of younger, nonwhite and progressive women known as “the Squad” who often challenge Democratic leadership and are vocal critics of President Trump.
She is accustomed to threats and has frequently drawn the ire of Trump. Her years-old feud with him reached a new level this week, after he suggested that she has profited from welfare fraud in her state and that the Justice Department is scrutinizing her.
Trump said Monday the Justice Department and Congress are “looking at” Omar, “who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
After Trump’s comments, Omar said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal that Trump has “an unhealthy and disturbing obsession with me and the Somali community.” She added: “For years, he has called for investigations against me and they have found nothing.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the incident unacceptable.
“Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis,” he said on social media. “We can disagree without putting people at risk.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and its Minnesota chapter condemned the incident and said in a statement that Omar “has been the frequent target of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-Somali hate rhetoric.”
Appeared in the January 28, 2026, print edition as 'Rep. Omar Is Attacked During Town Hall'.
John McCormick is a national political reporter who has covered every presidential campaign since 2000. He joined The Wall Street Journal in May 2019 after working for Bloomberg News, the Chicago Tribune, the Des Moines Register and the Rochester Post-Bulletin.
