A man sprayed an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and was tackled to the ground Tuesday during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have come to a head after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month.
The audience cheered as the man, who was wearing a black jacket, was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.”
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.
“ICE cannot be reformed,” Omar said.
Minneapolis police said officers saw a man use a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at Omar. They immediately arrested him and booked him at the county jail for third-degree assault, spokesperson Trevor Folke said in an email. Police also said forensic scientists responded to the scene.
Omar continued the town hall for about 25 more minutes after the man was ushered out of the room by her security detail, saying she would not be intimidated.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by a man during a Minneapolis town hall she was hosting Tuesday night. The incident comes amid rising tensions in Minnesota following two fatal shootings by federal immigration agents this month.
There was a strong, vinegar-like smell when the man pushed on the syringe, according to an Associated Press journalist who was there. Photos of the device, which fell to the ground when he was tackled, showed a brown liquid inside. There was no immediate word from officials on what it was.
Minneapolis Coun. LaTrisha Vetaw said some of the substance came into contact with her and State Sen. Bobby Joe Champion as well. She called it a deeply unsettling experience.
Walking out afterward, Omar said she felt a little flustered but was not hurt. She was going to be screened by a medical team.
‘I don’t let bullies win’
She later posted on the social platform X: “I’m OK. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a message from the AP seeking comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the Democratic congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Omar is a U.S. citizen who fled her birthplace, Somalia, with her family at age eight as civil war tore apart the country.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to about 84,000 people of Somali descent, nearly a third of Somalis living in the U.S.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expressed gratitude that Omar was safe, adding in a post on X: “Our state has been shattered by political violence in the last year. The cruel, inflammatory, dehumanizing rhetoric by our nation’s leaders needs to stop immediately.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, denounced the assault.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Mace said via the social platform X.
“Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, also condemned the attack on X, saying, “Unacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk.”
He added that he was relieved that Omar “is OK” and thanked police for their quick response, concluding, “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
The attack on Omar came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years, peaking in 2021 and the aftermath of that year’s Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, before dipping slightly only to climb again, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Capitol Police.
U.S. Capitol Police said they investigated nearly 15,000 concerning statements or communications involving members of Congress, their families and staff members in 2025.
Lawmakers have discussed the chill the threats bring on their ability to hold town halls and public events, with some even citing them in their decisions not to seek re-election.
Following the assault on Omar, Capitol Police said in a statement that the agency was “working with our federal partners to see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society.”
Minneapolis has been reeling from the fatal shootings of two residents by federal immigration agents this month during a massive federal immigration enforcement surge.
Intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti was killed Saturday, less than three weeks after Renee Good was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle.
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