The man who sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with an unidentified substance at a town hall meeting Tuesday night had hinted to a neighbor that he "might get arrested" at the event.
According to a New York Post report, the suspect, identified by Minneapolis police as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, appeared to foreshadow the chaotic confrontation days before it unfolded.
Kazmierczak allegedly charged toward Omar as she stood at the podium at the Urban League Twin Cities facility and sprayed an amber-colored, foul-smelling liquid from a syringe in her direction while she called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A neighbor, Brian Kelley, told the Post that Kazmierczak asked him to watch his dog while he attended the town hall and cryptically suggested that something might happen.
"He said, 'I might get arrested,'" Kelley said. "I figured it was nonsense. I didn't think he was going to do anything stupid."
Instead, Omar was forced to briefly pause her remarks as the liquid — described by witnesses as vinegar-like — hit her and at least one other attendee, Minneapolis City Council member LaTrisha Vetaw.
Omar asked for a napkin but declined medical treatment and continued speaking despite the disruption.
Minneapolis police arrested Kazmierczak at the scene and booked him into Hennepin County Jail on a charge of third-degree assault.
Minneapolis forensic scientists later processed the scene, though authorities have not yet identified the substance used.
While mainstream media outlets rushed to frame the incident as a reflection of a "charged political climate," as The New York Times put it, conservatives were quick to note that attacking a sitting member of Congress is a serious federal matter, regardless of politics.
Mike Davis, a former Senate Judiciary Committee attorney, wrote on X that "attacking a member of Congress is a federal crime" and called on the Justice Department and FBI to fully investigate the assault and pursue appropriate charges.
"No one is above the law," Davis said.
The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that the attack on Omar was "unacceptable" and would be met with "swift justice."
"We are now working with our federal partners to see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society," the agency said, the Times reported.
CNN and other outlets focused heavily on Kazmierczak's social media activity, noting that he shared conservative commentary.
His neighbor told the Post that Kazmierczak was a "pretty conservative guy" who disliked Omar, but also emphasized that the suspect suffers from serious health issues, including Parkinson's disease, and has been heavily medicated since a severe car accident.
Omar, a frequent critic of ICE and the Trump administration, later downplayed the incident on X, writing that she was "ok" and would not be intimidated.
"I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work," she said.
President Donald Trump, when asked about the incident by ABC News, dismissed Omar as "a fraud" and said he had not seen the video of the confrontation.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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