According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, Anthony J. Kazmierczak, 55, is accused of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating a member of Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar reacts after Anthony J. Kazmierczak (seen being restrained by security, middle) sprays an unidentified liquid in her direction during a town hall in Minneapolis on Jan. 27.
(Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters, Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images (2). )More
The man who squirted a liquid substance at Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall in Minneapolis earlier this week has been charged by the Justice Department with assaulting a member of Congress.
According to an affidavit filed in federal court on Wednesday, Anthony J. Kazmierczak, 55, “forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded and intimidated” Omar as she was speaking at the event on Tuesday night.
During the town hall, the man — later identified by police as Kazmierczak — approached the lectern as Omar was speaking and used a syringe to spray her with the liquid.
According to the court filing, authorities later determined that the substance was water and apple cider vinegar. It was sent to a state laboratory for further testing and analysis.
Kazmierczak stumbled backward and was immediately tackled by a security guard and taken into custody. He was initially charged with third-degree assault and was booked into Hennepin County Jail, according to online jail records. He was transferred to federal custody on Thursday morning.
Kazmierczak is tackled by security after spraying an unknown substance at Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall in Minneapolis on Jan. 27.
(Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)More
A stunned Omar stepped toward the man with her fist raised before he was taken to the ground. She then asked for a napkin, told staff and security she was OK, refused a medical check and insisted on continuing the event.
“We will continue. These f***ing a**holes are not going to get away with it,” she said. “Just give me 10 minutes. I beg you. Please don’t let them have the show.”
Omar then addressed the crowd: “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.”
She finished her speech and even took questions from constituents. After the event, Omar told reporters that she had “survived war” and that she is “definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think that they can throw at me, because I’m built that way.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, reacts angrily after the attack on Jan. 27.
(Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work,” Omar wrote in a post on X. “I don’t let bullies win.”
She added: “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
Omar, who was born in Somalia, emigrated to the United States in 1995, when she and her family fled the country’s civil war. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
The town hall was convened amid unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents involved in the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement operation.
The incident occurred just after Omar called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“We must abolish ICE for good,” Omar said. “And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.”
After spraying the liquid, Kazmierczak said to Omar, “She’s not resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart,” according to the affidavit.
Anthony J. Kazmierczak.
(Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
The affidavit states that several years ago, Kazmierczak and a “close associate” were talking about Omar on the phone, he said, “Somebody should kill that bitch.”
The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that they were working with federal partners to “see that this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society.”
The attack was condemned by other members of Congress, including some of Omar’s Republican critics.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, wrote on X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric – and I do – no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, called the attack “completely unacceptable.”
“Regardless of political views, we should all agree this behavior crosses a line and cannot be tolerated,” he wrote on X.
“I disagree with her on almost everything politically and on policy,” Rep. Mark Alford, a Republican from Missouri, wrote in an X post. “But these type of disagreements should NEVER result in assault.”
Kazmierczak is subdued after the attack Jan. 27.
(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Omar, who has represented Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District since 2019, has been a frequent target of President Trump.
On Monday, Trump wrote in a social media post that the Justice Department is “looking at” Omar, who, the president said, “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
Speaking in Iowa on Tuesday afternoon, Trump said that his administration would only allow immigrants into the United States who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing boos from the crowd.
In a phone interview with ABC News late Tuesday, Trump said he had not seen video of the town hall incident and suggested without evidence that Omar had staged the attack.
“I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” the president said. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Omar blamed Trump for the threats against her.
“Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar said.
