President Donald Trump claimed in an ABC News interview that Representative Ilhan Omar “probably had herself sprayed” after a man used a syringe to spray her with a strong-smelling liquid during a Minneapolis town hall. Police arrested the suspect at the scene, and Omar continued the event, saying she would not be intimidated.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown liquid from a syringe during a town hall in Minneapolis, according to Minneapolis police and reporting from the Associated Press.
Police identified the suspect as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak. Officers said he rushed toward Omar from the front row and used a syringe to spray the liquid onto her shirt before security intervened and he was taken into custody. He was booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault; officials said Omar was not injured.
The incident occurred moments after Omar criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement and called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. Witnesses and journalists at the event described a strong, vinegarlike odor, and photos showed a light-brown liquid in the device. Authorities said they were still working to identify the substance.
Omar initially declined to end the event and continued speaking for roughly 25 minutes after the man was removed. Video and subsequent reporting captured her remarks denouncing the attacker and insisting the meeting continue, including: “We are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,” and, “We will continue. These f*ing aholes are not going to get away with it.”
Afterward, Omar told reporters she felt shaken but was not hurt, and she later wrote on X that she was “a survivor” and would not be intimidated.
President Donald Trump responded the next day in an interview with ABC News by calling Omar a “fraud” and suggesting, without offering evidence, that “she probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” Trump acknowledged he had not watched video of the incident.
Separately, Trump has publicly asserted that the Justice Department and Congress are “looking at” Omar’s finances in connection with a large Minnesota fraud scandal. Publicly available reporting and official statements reviewed by major outlets describe scrutiny of political donations from individuals connected to Minnesota fraud investigations, including contributions that reached Omar and other Minnesota officials; however, there has been no public evidence presented that Omar is charged in, or formally implicated by prosecutors in, the underlying fraud cases.
