The Department of Justice has filed federal criminal charges against the man who lunged at Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis.
Anthony Kazmierczak was swiftly detained and booked by Minnesota authorities and booked with third-degree assault after Tuesday’s incident.
A recently unsealed federal criminal complaint alleges Kazmierczak “forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded, intimidated an officer and employee of the United States” while she was engaged in official duties.
The FBI’s affidavit alleges Kazmierczak sprayed Omar with a syringe filled with apple cider vinegar, which “stained her clothes and may have reached her face and right eye.” The affidavit also included a picture of the syringe that Kamierczak was accused of wielding.
Kazmierczak allegedly had a history of threatening statements against Omar, including telling a close associate at one point that “somebody should kill that b****,” according to the FBI.
The agent who filed the brief affidavit also referenced a political cartoon about Omar that Kazmierczak posted on Facebook in 2021.
Moments after Omar called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation, Kazmierczak appeared to say “she’s not resigning” and “you’re splitting Minnesotans apart” after he rose up from his seat and lunged towards her with the syringe, according to the FBI.
In footage from Omar’s remarks to constituents after two Minneapolis residents were fatally shot by federal officers supporting the Trump administration’s expansive mass deportation campaign, Kazmierczak can be seen jolting from his seat near the front of the room and rushing forwards.
Omar, the first Somali-American to serve in Congress, appears briefly shaken but raises a fist in defense before returning to the microphone.
“We’re gonna keep talking,” she said. “Just give me 10 minutes. Please don’t let them have the show.”
She continued: “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.”
Her office later released a statement saying the congresswoman was safe and that she continued with her town hall “because she doesn’t let bullies win.”
The attack also followed President Donald Trump’s routine use of racist and derogatory language to describe Somali immigrants, often directing his tirades at the congresswoman. The president has called Somali immigrants “garbage” who “come from hell” and baselessly accused them of “taking over” the state and “roving the streets looking for ‘prey.’”
The Twin Cities are home to roughly 80,000 people of Somali ancestry, the vast majority of whom are legal residents or American citizens. The president — seizing on a series of fraud cases involving government programs where most of the defendants have roots in Somalia — has surged federal law enforcement officers into the state, dovetailing his nationwide efforts to deport millions of people with a campaign against alleged fraud.
Hours before Omar’s remarks to constituents, the president again singled out the Minnesota congresswoman at a campaign-style speaking event.
“We need people to come in legally, but they have to show that they can love our country, not hate our country,” the president said during an event in Iowa. “They have to show that they can love our country. They have to be proud. Not like Ilhan Omar … She comes from a country that’s a disaster. It’s not even a country.”
Asked whether he had seen the video of the incident, Trump told ABC News“No. I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
This is a developing story
