Man held in attack on Rep. Omar made pro-Trump posts
Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, has been arrested multiple times on suspicion of driving under the influence and has had numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.
Police say Kazmierczak used a syringe to squirt liquid on Omar during Tuesday’s event after she called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Officers immediately tackled and arrested Kazmierczak, who was jailed on a preliminary third-degree assault charge, police spokesperson Trevor Folke said.
Photos of the syringe, which fell when the man was tackled, show what appears to be a light-brown liquid inside. Authorities haven’t publicly identified the substance.
After the attack, there was a strong, vinegar-like smell in the room, according to an Associated Press journalist who was there. Forensic scientists were called in, but none of the roughly 100 people who were there had a noticeable physical reaction to the substance.
Omar continued speaking for about 25 minutes after Kazmierczak was ushered out, saying she wouldn’t be intimidated. While leaving, she said that she felt a little flustered but wasn’t hurt and that she was going to be screened by a medical team.
She later posted on 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.”
Kazmierczak hadn’t been formally charged or scheduled for an initial court appearance as of Wednesday morning. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has until Thursday to charge him but could seek an extension. A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately return a call seeking further information.
It’s unclear whether Kazmierczak has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
A neighbor told the New York Post that Kazmierczak said he was going to Omar’s town hall and “I might get arrested.”
In social media posts, Kazmierczak described himself as a former network engineer who lives in Minneapolis. Among other things, he made comments critical of former President Biden, a Democrat, and referred to Democrats as “angry and liars.”
Trump, a Republican, “wants the US is stronger and more prosperous,” Kazmierczak wrote. “Stop other countries from stealing from us. Bring back the fear that enemies back away from and gain respect that If anyone threatens ourselves or friends we will [expletive] them up.”
In another post, Kazmierczak 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?”
Following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September, Kazmierczak for a time changed his profile picture on Facebook to an AP photo of Trump embracing Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
Omar, a progressive, has been a frequent target of Trump’s barbs since she joined Congress in 2019.
That year, Trump urged Omar and three other freshman congresswomen of color known as “the squad” to “go back” to their countries if they wanted to criticize the U.S. Omar was the only one of the four born outside the U.S., having immigrated to the country as a child when her family fled violence in Somalia.
Trump stepped up his criticism of Omar in recent months as he turned his focus on the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which is home to about 84,000 people of Somali descent — nearly a third of the Somalis living in the U.S. During a Cabinet meeting in December, he referred to her as “garbage.” And he has linked the Twin Cities immigration crackdown to a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which most of the defendants have roots in the East African country.
The White House did not respond to a Tuesday message seeking comment. But, when asked about the attack Tuesday night, Trump told ABC News that he hadn’t watched the footage and accused Omar of staging the attack. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump said.
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face at a bar during the Sundance Film Festival.
Christian Joel Young, 28, said “we are going to deport your kind” before striking the congressman, according to a probable cause affidavit. Young also said something similar to a woman and pushed her, the affidavit said. He was charged Tuesday in state court with two counts of misdemeanor assault and felony burglary for entering the bar illegally.
