Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar was attacked with an unknown substance at a town hall 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. The man was immediately arrested and forensics were being conducted at the scene, police added.
“I thought it was one of her aides going up to hand her a note or something,” Jacquelynn Goessling said of the man that attacked Omar with liquid, the acrid smell of which consumed the front of the room.
In a statement on X, Omar said: “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.”
After the incident, Omar told the room that “we will continue… we are Minnesota strong”.
Another 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”.
Video from the scene shows the team shouting “make a hole” as they wrestled the man out of the room.
As he was pushed out of the room, he said that Omar was “pitting us against each other”. It was not immediately clear who the man was referring to.
The liquid he sprayed on Omar had a sour smell that was similar to a chemical product, according to a BBC journalist in the room.
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 behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
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.
The event was one of the regular town halls hosted by Omar, and about 100 people were in attendance in the north Minneapolis basement, expecting to hear about the presence of federal immigration officials in their town and ask questions after the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by immigration officials this month.
In January, an immigration officer fatally shot US citizen Renee Good. Last week, US citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot after being stopped by border agents, reigniting local protests and public outcry.
At the town hall, Omar called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be “abolished” and said Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem should “resign or face impeachment”. It was after these comments that the man attacked.
Officials pleaded with the Congresswoman to end the town hall but she insisted on continuing.
Speaking again at the podium Omar said: “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.”
Many in the area see the increased immigration enforcement action as a response to President Donald Trump’s dislike of Omar who he has called a “radical left lunatic”.
On Tuesday, responding to the second fatal shooting, Trump said his administration was “going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota.
Additional reporting by Kristina Volk.
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