Minneapolis, MN – During a heated town hall meeting on Tuesday evening, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was targeted by an audience member who rushed the podium and sprayed an unknown liquid—later identified by authorities as likely apple cider vinegar—directly at her chest using a syringe.The incident unfolded moments after Omar, speaking amid heightened tensions over federal immigration enforcement and recent fatal shootings involving ICE agents, called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and demanded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem resign or face impeachment.
However, video footage of the event shows the 55-year-old suspect, Anthony James Kazmierczak, rising from his seat in the front row and charging toward Omar after she appears to give a brief nod in the direction of the man. The congresswoman was not physically injured by the substance, which emitted a strong vinegar-like odor, and she calmly continued the event after security tackled and restrained the assailant.
“We will continue,” Omar stated immediately following the disruption. “He is not getting away with this.”
Minneapolis police arrested Kazmierczak on the scene and booked him into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault. The investigation remains ongoing, with forensic analysis confirming the liquid’s nature.
When President Trump was asked about the incident in an ABC News interview, he dismissed it without viewing the footage. “I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” Trump said. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” He added that he hoped he wouldn’t “have to bother” with it further.
Omar has since attributed rising threats against her and her community to what she describes as Trump’s “hateful rhetoric,” noting a pattern of increased death threats following his public comments about her.
You decide: Real or fake?
What a fraud!
— Branden “RagingAxeMan” Brown (@RagingAxeMan) January 28, 2026
The Nod heard round the Web! pic.twitter.com/rgXFWEkRVj