A chaotic scene unfolded at a Minneapolis town hall on Tuesday when a man rushed toward Representative Ilhan Omar and sprayed a foul-smelling liquid on her shirt. Police have identified the suspect as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, who is now sitting in a Hennepin County jail cell without bail.
The incident was captured on video and aired on live C-SPAN. In the footage, a man can be seen jumping up and sprinting toward the congresswoman.
He allegedly used a syringe to spray her with an unidentified substance before security guards tackled him and dragged him out of the building.
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Before the attack, Omar was speaking to the crowd about a very heated topic. She was calling for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her comments came after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
In the confusion right after the man was tackled, someone in the video can be heard yelling, “He sprayed something.”
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Despite the scare, Omar didn’t want the event to end. Her staff told her she needed to get checked out, but she insisted on staying. “Just give me 10 minutes. I beg you,” she said in the video footage. “Please don’t let them have the show.”
As police hold Kazmierczak on charges of third-degree assault, people are looking into his background. CNN reported finding a Facebook page that appears to belong to him.
The profile describes him as an “empty nester” and father of two daughters, but it also contains several political posts. Back in 2021, the account shared a post criticizing Omar.
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