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President Donald Trump attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) just hours before she was assaulted on Tuesday evening, with the president mocking her and relishing in violence against Somalis at a campaign rally.
As Omar spoke during a town hall on Trump’s militarized raid of Minnesota, a man suddenly lunged at her and sprayed her with an unknown substance in a syringe. Video of the attack circulated widely online.
Omar was undeterred and continued the town hall. Police arrested the man, who they identified as Anthony James Kazmierczak. Her office later issued a statement saying that she is “okay” after the incident.
Just hours before, at a rally in Clive, Iowa, the president waged another one of his bigoted attacks on Omar — one of countless times he’s fixated on the lawmaker in recent months.
When speaking about supposed violence caused by immigrants, Trump said immigrants must “show that they can love our country, they have to be proud. Not like Ilhan Omar.” The crowd booed.
“Did you see that wise guy? You know, she’s always talking about, ‘the Constitution provides me with the following,’” he said, putting on a mocking voice.
He went on to make racist remarks about Somalia and Somali people, as he’s done numerous times in recent months, and relished in the idea of committing violence against them.
“They’re good at one thing: pirates. But they don’t do that anymore. You know why? Because they get the same treatment from us as the drug dealers get: Boom, boom, boom,” he said to laughter and applause, referring to his administration’s illegal boat strike campaign. “When we see them going in, ping, that’s the end of that.”
Trump has relentlessly attacked Omar as his administration has unleashed violence on Minnesota, sometimes for days in a row. He has said that she should be “thrown the hell out” of the U.S. while spreading lies about her status as a citizen; repeated false conspiracy theories about her; and, just on Monday, said that his administration is investigating her.
Omar has previously said that the point of Trump’s campaign against her, which she has dubbed as a “creepy obsession,” is to stoke violence. Other lawmakers, like Representatives Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) and Randy Fine (R-Florida), have piled onto the attacks, with the latter at one point calling her a “Muslim terrorist.”
That violence came to fruition against Omar — who has been loudly advocating against Trump’s raid of Minneapolis and has backed calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During the attack, the man appeared to yell “you must resign” at the lawmaker while spraying her. Minneapolis police have reportedly sent a forensics squad to analyze the scene, and the liquid apparently had a strong foul smell resembling that of vinegar.
Early reports claiming to have found Kazmierczak’s social media feeds have found that he is a fan of Trump, and has for years made posts in favor of the president.
The lawmaker was defiant in the face of the attack — even squaring up to punch him back seconds after it happened. Video showed aides telling Omar to end the town hall so she could be checked out. But she insisted on staying, saying: “We will continue. These fucking assholes are not going to get away with this.”
Back on the podium, she said, “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.”
Later in a statement on social media, she said that “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work.”
Trump and others like Fine even continued to stoke hatred against Omar after the attack, suggesting that it was her fault or that she deserved it.
“I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump told reporters. He said that “I hope I don’t have to bother” watching the video of the incident.
In an interview on far right Newsmax on Wednesday morning, Fine said, “I blame Ilhan Omar for what happened.”
Many Democrats, however, spoke out in support of Omar after the attack.
“My sis is a survivor. She fled war at 8 yrs old,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). “What these people don’t understand is that this country belongs to all of us. I pray one day Ilhan won’t have to put her fists up to defend herself. Her lived experience is why she won’t let them win. We are blessed to have her in Congress.”
The attack comes just days after another Democratic House member, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (Florida), was assaulted by a man who Frost said cited Trump in his attack. The man reportedly said: “We are going to deport you and your kind.”
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