Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar blamed President Donald Trump for threats to her safety after a man accosted her at a Minneapolis event and squirted liquid at her, according to remarks she made during a Wednesday press conference. Omar said she sees a direct connection between Trump’s rhetoric and the volume of threats she receives.
Omar said, “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,” adding that she was not deterred by the prospect of appearing in public. When asked if she was nervous about being seen again, she replied, “Fear and intimidation doesn’t work on me.”
Investigators identified the man arrested in connection with Tuesday’s attack as Anthony Kazmierczak. Police said Kazmierczak used a syringe to squirt liquid on Omar during the event after she called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for the firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Officers immediately tackled and arrested Kazmierczak.
Photos of the syringe, which fell when the man was tackled, showed what appeared to be a light-brown liquid inside, authorities said. They had not publicly identified the substance as of Wednesday afternoon. Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping said the office still had not received the results of the police investigation, and a statement from the Minneapolis Police Department said the FBI was now leading the case.
Minnesota court records cited by the AP showed Kazmierczak was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989 and had been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence, along with numerous traffic citations. The report also described indications of significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings. As of Wednesday afternoon, Kazmierczak had not been formally charged or scheduled for an initial court appearance, and the AP reported the case had not been assigned to the county’s chief public defender, Michael Berger.
The AP said Kazmierczak had posted online in support of Trump. In social media posts described in the report, Kazmierczak criticized former President Joe Biden and referred to Democrats as “angry and liars.” The AP also reported that Kazmierczak wrote, “Stop other countries from stealing from us,” and separately asked, “When will descendants of slaves pay restitution to Union soldiers’ families for freeing them/dying for them, and not sending them back to Africa?” It was unclear to the AP whether Kazmierczak had a lawyer who could speak for him.
Omar’s remarks came as the White House declined to comment, while Trump disputed the attack’s circumstances in an interview with ABC News. Trump said Omar “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” according to the AP.
Jeremy Slevin, a senior advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders who previously worked as a spokesperson for Omar, said it was “hard not to see the link between what happened and the attacks Trump has made against Omar personally,” and he also referenced what he called “his siege of her city.” Slevin’s remarks were part of a larger discussion among lawmakers and advocates about the threatening climate around high-profile political figures.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, said she understood Omar’s concern, describing a prior incident in which an armed man showed up at her Seattle home in 2022 and threatened her and her husband. “It has to stop,” Jayapal told the AP, saying lawmakers were trying to do their jobs while Trump and other elected officials refused to call it out, which she said had consequences.
Omar said she pays for security and that the government has had to provide protection because Trump is in office and “so obsessed with me,” according to her Wednesday comments. The AP also described her history of receiving threats, including an audio recording of a death threat she played during a 2021 press conference and a later federal case in which a man was sentenced to three years’ probation after hate crime charges for an email threatening to kill her.
Lawmakers said threats are widespread and persistent. Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said, “Almost all of us receive very regular threats,” and he said “the point of what these violent actors want is for us to shut up and we just can’t give in to that.” Casar also described Omar as “tough as nails” and said Trump should curb his rhetoric about her.