ap/dpa | A man sprayed an unknown substance into the face of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in Minneapolis with a syringe. The man was then brought to the ground at the town hall event on Tuesday (local time). The audience cheered as he was restrained and his arms were tied behind his back. In a video from the event, someone in the crowd can be heard saying: “Oh my God, he sprayed something in her face.”
Shortly before, Omar, a Democrat, the abolition of the US immigration agency ICE and called for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
After the spray attack, there was a strong, vinegar-like smell in the air, reported an AP journalist who was at the scene. Photos of the syringe, which fell to the ground, showed what appeared to be a light brown liquid inside. There was initially no official information about what substance it was. Initially, no one among the approximately 100 visitors to the event showed any noticeable physical reaction to the substance.
Minneapolis City Council member LaTrisha Vetaw said some of the substance also came into contact with her and a member of the Minnesota State Senate, Bobby Joe Champion. She described the incident as deeply disturbing.
Attackers arrested and identified
Police identified 55-year-old Anthony K as the suspected perpetrator. The man was arrested for assault and taken to the district jail. Forensic investigators also examined the crime scene, said police spokesman Trevor Folke.
According to police, Omar continued the town hall event for about 25 minutes after the man was escorted out of the room by her security team.
Omar: “I won’t let bullies intimidate me”
As she left the venue, Omar said she was a little shaken but was not injured. She should still be examined by a medical team. She later wrote on Platform X: “I’m fine.” She survived and “this little provocateur” will not stop her from doing her work. “I don’t let bullies intimidate me.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday evening. Omar has roots in Somalia and has been a target of US President Donald Trump several times in the past. He has repeatedly insulted Somali migrants in the United States, their home country and Omar himself, focusing on Minneapolis, which is home to a large community of Somalis. During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called Omar “trash,” adding, “Your friends are trash.”
Trump is heating up in Iowa
Just hours before the attack on Omar, the president again lashed out at the Muslim congresswoman during an appearance before a crowd in Iowa. He said his government would only allow immigrants into the country who “can show that they love our country.”
“You have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said. When he said her name, there were loud boos. He added: “She comes from a country that is a disaster.” The president claimed that he believes Somalia is “not even a country.”
Omar is a US citizen. She fled her native Somalia with her family at the age of eight when civil war broke out there. In the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul is home to around 84,000 people of Somali origin – almost a third of all Somalis living in the USA.
Politicians condemn the attack
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expressed gratitude that Omar was unharmed, writing on
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina also condemned the attack. “I am deeply shocked to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Mace wrote on
Democratic Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey said: “Unacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people in danger.”
Threats against members of the US Congress have increased in recent years. The number of cases peaked in 2021 and in the period following the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 of that year, then declined slightly and then increased again, according to the latest data from the U.S. Capitol Police.
Trump is now talking about “de-escalation” in Minneapolis
US President Donald Trump poses after the deadly shooting in Minneapolis a more moderate course of his government in prospect. “We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. He didn’t give any details. This left it unclear whether or to what extent the immigration officials’ tactics, which were sharply criticized by parts of the US population, should change. Trump initially ruled out a withdrawal of emergency services from the US state of Minnesota, where Minneapolis is located.
Two US citizens have been shot by federal officers in Minneapolis since the beginning of the year, At the beginning of January Renée Good, most recently Alex Pretti. Trump now said: “The bottom line is that it was terrible. Both incidents were terrible.” The fatal shooting of Pretti at the weekend sparked outrage across the country and left the US government in need of explanation, also because videos contradicted official statements. Good was shot by an ICE officer in early January.
No withdrawal of immigration officials
“I don’t see any withdrawal in this,” said Trump, referring to the withdrawal of the controversial commander of the border protection agency, Gregory Bovino, along with some border guards from Minneapolis. “It’s more of a small change.”
Tom Homan will now take over the mission instead. Homan has had a decades-long career in border patrol and is best known for cracking down on irregular immigrants during Trump’s first term. He is controversial because of his role in the separation of families.
The US government had sent thousands of federal officers to the city of Minneapolis and the surrounding state of Minnesota. The operations are part of Trump’s stricter deportation policy. In the Fox interview, Trump seemed to defend the operation in principle: “We have removed thousands of incorrigible criminals from Minnesota,” said the President.