Ilhan Omar points finger at Trump’s ‘hateful rhetoric’ after town hall attack
Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward her and the Somali community contributed to the attack on her at a town hall Tuesday.
“What the facts have shown since I have been elected is that every time the president of the United States chooses to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar said at a news conference in Minneapolis.
“I believe the situation is such that I would not be where I am today, having to pay for security, and forcing the government to think about providing security for me, if Donald Trump was not in power,” she added.
Omar was confronted on Tuesday in a town hall by a man who tried to spray her with a substance from a syringe. The man, identified as James Kazmierczak, 55, was arrested on suspicion of assault but has not yet been formally charged.
A spokesperson for Omar said his office was informed that a preliminary report showed the substance was apple cider vinegar. The FBI said in a statement Wednesday that it is now investigating the incident.
It is a federal crime to assault a member of Congress.
Trump has targeted Omar since his first term, often referencing his home country of Somalia. In 2019, he tweeted that Omar and three other House progressives and women of color known as “the squad” should “go back” to the countries they came from. All members of the “team”, except Omar, were born in the United States.
At a rally in Pennsylvania last month, Trump said Omar “is just being a bitch” and encouraged the crowd to chant “send her back.”
More recently, Trump has sought to link Omar to allegations of fraud in Minnesota. On Monday, Trump said the Justice Department was “monitoring” Omar.
Omar said Wednesday that the man at City Hall “was particularly upset that Trump’s order to deport Somalis wasn’t causing enough deportations of Somalis, so he wanted to come get the person he thought was protecting Somalis.”
Omar’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether authorities had informed her of the man’s motives.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Omar’s remarks Wednesday evening.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States
Kazmierczak’s social media accounts include several photos supporting Trump and criticizing Democrats.
In one article he wrote: “Are all Democrats angry and lying? In another, he captioned a photo of former President Joe Biden with the word “spineless.”
Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly condemned the attack, as did most Republicans who took a stand.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas, said in an article that “the relentless hatred and dangerous rhetoric of Trump and his allies have fueled this type of violence.”
Across the aisle, Rep. Nathaniel Moran, Republican of Texas, said in an article that “political, religious and ideological differences never justify violence.”
There were a few GOP outliers, however.
“At the end of the day, it’s the Democrats who are playing games, and Ilhan Omar needs to be in jail. She’s as guilty as can be,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., during a podcast appearance with conservative influencer Benny Johnson.
Tuberville also claimed the attack was staged, echoing earlier remarks Trump made in an interview with ABC News when he said Omar “probably got sprayed, knowing her.”
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said in an interview on Newsmax that while he didn’t want Omar attacked or injured, “I also blame Ilhan Omar for what happened.”
“When Democrats describe people who throw objects at law enforcement as ‘peaceful protesters,’ they shouldn’t be surprised when unhinged individuals start doing the same thing to them,” Fine added.
The town hall incident comes as threats of political violence continue to grow. The U.S. Capitol Police released an annual report Tuesday on investigated threats related to Congress, which showed that investigations “involving statements, conduct, and communications directed at Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol complex” reached 14,938 last year, up from 9,474 in 2024.
This is the third year in a row that the number of investigations has increased.
