A man sprayed US Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with an unidentified substance during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday, in what authorities described as a targeted attack amid escalating tensions in the city.

Omar, who is of Somali origin, represents Minnesota, which has been the site of repeated clashes between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the general public after US President Donald Trump ordered an operation in the city to target immigrants.

The lawmaker appeared visibly shaken following the attack, but remained on stage and continued speaking for about 25 minutes after security tackled the assailant to the ground.

“This small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work,” Omar later wrote on social media. “I don’t let bullies win.”

Police identified the suspect as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, who allegedly rushed toward Omar moments after she called for the abolition of ICE.

Forensic teams said the syringe contained a “light-brown liquid” with a “strong, vinegarlike smell”, which authorities are still identifying.

Trump has repeatedly insulted Somalis, calling them “garbage” and telling them to go back to their country.

“They come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch. We don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it,” he told reporters. 

Trump has singled out Omar as well and said that she should focus on fixing Somalia instead of the US, and he once again called her out after the attack.

Trump suggested that Omar staged the incident. “I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,” Trump told ABC News.

“She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”

Journalist Mehdi Hassan criticised the attack on Omar and Trump’s response, suggesting that the president should not be getting away with repeating these claims.

These fuckers bullied everyone into deifying Charlie Kirk when he was killed, but when Ilhan Omar is attacked, this is what the president can get away with saying: https://t.co/uT14r3ihN2

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 28, 2026
 

Many online wrote that the rhetoric used by Trump and many Republican leaders helped to incite violence against Somalis. 

This is how Trump was speaking about Ilhan Omar a few hours before she was attacked. His rhetoric has caused violence for years. https://t.co/hJDoQRbGmo pic.twitter.com/0ToDOne2lB

— Adam Mockler (@adammocklerr) January 28, 2026

US Capitol Police condemned the incident as “unacceptable” and pledged “swift justice”.

Threats against lawmakers have surged, with police reporting over a 57 percent rise in investigated threats between 2024 and 2025. Omar has been one of the most frequent targets of threats.

Republicans have seized on broader controversies in Minnesota in the wake of a series of high-profile fraud cases tied to pandemic relief and social services programmes to target immigrants and Somalis.

Among these is the Feeding Our Future scandal, a case in which a Minnesota nonprofit was found to have defrauded federal nutrition programmes of hundreds of millions of dollars during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Federal prosecutors said dozens of people were indicted and more than 50 convicted in connection with that scheme.

In recent days, some GOP figures have aggressively linked Omar and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the fraud controversies through community ties and what they describe as slow political responses to emerging problems.

Critics characterise these accusations as part of a broader GOP push to connect Democratic politicians to local scandals and misconduct. Omar and her allies reject these claims, calling them political smears and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

No charges have been filed against Omar or Walz in relation to the Feeding Our Future case or any federal fraud matter, and no credible evidence has been presented as to Omar’s connection to the controversy. 

Governor Walz condemned the attack and urged political leaders to tone down incendiary rhetoric. “The cruel, inflammatory, dehumanising rhetoric by our nation’s leaders needs to stop immediately,” he said.

Many online also said that Omar’s attacker was following multiple pro-Trump and MAGA accounts on social media.

Following the attack on Omar, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace said on X that she was “deeply disturbed” by the attack, even though she “vehemently disagrees” with her, has launched Islamophobic attacks against her, and in the past called for her to be deported.

I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today. 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.pic.twitter.com/2kNUqcnAb8

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 28, 2026

The attack has reignited debate in the US over political violence, the responsibilities of elected officials to de-escalate rhetoric, and whether lawmakers, particularly those from historically marginalised communities, are being left dangerously exposed.