MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has criticized President Donald Trump for contributing to threats against her safety, following an incident where she was attacked and sprayed with an unknown liquid at a town hall event in Minneapolis on January 27, 2026. The suspect, who has a history of supporting Trump online, fueled concerns about the politically charged atmosphere surrounding the incident.
During a press conference, Omar articulated a direct correlation between Trump's incendiary rhetoric and the increase in death threats she has received. "Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket," she stated. Despite the risks involved, Omar remained resolute: "Fear and intimidation doesn’t work on me."
The assailant, identified as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, has a previous criminal record and has made social media posts supporting Trump while expressing hostile sentiments towards Democrats. He was arrested immediately after he reportedly used a syringe to squirt the liquid on Omar during the event, where she was advocating for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Minneapolis Police Department confirmed that Kazmierczak has not yet been formally charged, and the investigation is now under the FBI's jurisdiction.
Omar's safety concerns are not new; her security situation has been critical since Trump first targeted her with derogatory statements upon her election to Congress seven years ago. These attacks intensified, with Trump infamously suggesting she "go back" to her country and labeling her with pejoratives. Omar linked her need for heightened security to Trump's ongoing fixation on her, asserting, "I wouldn’t be where I am at today, having to pay for security, having the government have to think about providing me security, if Donald Trump wasn’t in office and if he wasn’t so obsessed with me."
Notably, this attack not only highlights Omar's personal struggles with safety as a public lawmaker but is also reflective of a broader trend of increasing violence and threats against members of Congress. Just days before Omar’s incident, U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, was assaulted during a private event at the Sundance Film Festival. This pattern of aggression is alarming; data from the U.S. Capitol Police indicates that threats against lawmakers peaked after the January 6 Capitol attack and remain a pressing issue.
Omar's colleagues have echoed her sentiments, emphasizing the need for bipartisan condemnation of such behavior. Representative Pramila Jayapal, who has faced threats against her own safety, remarked, “It has to stop. I mean, we are just trying to do our jobs, and it could be quieted and called out by Trump and leaders in elected office who refuse to go along with it, but they continue to do it, and this is the consequence.”
As the investigation into the attack on Omar continues, it serves as a stark reminder of the hostile political climate in the U.S., where the rhetoric of prominent figures can perpetuate a cycle of fear and violence towards those in public office.
