'I don't let bullies win': US congresswoman Omar defiant after substance thrown at her

Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar was attacked with an unknown substance at an event she was hosting on Tuesday, when an audience member used a syringe to spray liquid at her, Minneapolis police said.

Omar was uninjured and continued to speak. "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," she later wrote on X.

Authorities have not yet identified what the liquid was. According to a BBC journalist in the room, it had a sour smell similar to a chemical product.

Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, has been charged with third-degree assault and is being held in custody, the local sheriff's office said.

Omar, a Democrat who became in 2019 the first Somali-American to serve in the US Congress, is a fierce critic of US President Donald Trump.

She has recently targeted the president's immigration crackdown in Minnesota, during which two US citizens have been shot dead.

On Tuesday, responding to the second fatal shooting, Trump said his administration was "going to de-escalate a little bit".

During her speaking event, Omar called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is one of the main agencies tasked with carrying out the operation and has come under intense scrutiny for its tactics.

Trump has frequently clashed with Minnesota's Democratic officials, and has often singled out Omar in particular for personal attacks.

Prior to Tuesday's attack on the congresswoman, he told an audience in Iowa that immigrants to the US "have to show that they can love our country, be proud - not like Ilhan Omar".

During Tuesday's event, Omar said Trump's key ally Kristi Noem - whose Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversees ICE - should "resign or face impeachment" over recent events in her state.

In January, an immigration officer fatally shot US citizen Renee Good. And on Saturday, US citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot after being stopped by border agents, reigniting local protests as well as a nationwide public outcry.

It was after Omar's comments about Noem that she was attacked.

As he was pushed out of the room following his use of the syringe, the attacker said that Omar was "pitting us against each other". It was not immediately clear what he was referring to.

Kazmierczak was immediately arrested and forensics were being conducted at the scene, police said.

Officials pleaded with Omar to end the event, but the congresswoman insisted that she would continue, telling her audience: "We will continue... we are Minnesota strong."

When back at the lectern, she added: "We're gonna keep talking. Just give me ten minutes. Please don't let them have the show. Please don't let them have the show."

One attendee, Alfred Flowers Jr, told the BBC that he "respected her courage and strength to still stay and finish the town hall for the people".

In a post on social media, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: "Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk... This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in our city."

Omar regularly hosts such speaking events, known in the US as town halls.

On Tuesday, about 100 people were in attendance in the north Minneapolis basement. They were expecting to hear about the presence of federal immigration officials in their town and ask questions about the recent fatal shootings.

In 2019, Omar became the first Somali-American, first African-born American, and one of the first two Muslim American women to serve in the US Congress.

Trump's crackdown in Minneapolis was launched in December after some Somali immigrants were convicted in a massive fraud of state welfare programmes. The state is home to the largest community of Somali immigrants in the US.

Many in the area have also speculated that the operation could be linked to the president's dislike of the state's Democratic officials - not least Omar, who he has called a "radical left lunatic", and "disgusting".

Earlier this month, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Omar "should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!"

Additional reporting by Kristina Volk

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