MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar blamed President Donald Trump for threats to her safety Wednesday, a day after she was attacked and doused at an event in Minneapolis.
The man arrested in Tuesday’s attack posted online in support of the Republican president.
“Every time the president of the United States chooses to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar said during a news conference. Asked if she was nervous about appearing in public, she said: “Fear and intimidation don’t work on me.”
The attack came during a dangerous political moment in Minneapolis, where two people were fatally shot by federal agents during the White House’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Omar, a refugee from Somalia, has long been an integral part of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. After she was elected seven years ago, Trump said she should “go back” to her country. He recently described it as “garbage” and said it should be investigated. During a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, shortly before Omar was attacked, he said immigrants should be proud of the United States — “not like Ilhan Omar.”
“It’s hard not to see the connection between what happened and the attacks that Trump has made personally against Omar, not to mention his siege of her city,” said Jeremy Slevin, who worked for years as Omar’s spokesman before becoming a senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The White House declined to comment. Trump baselessly accused Omar of masterminding the attack.
“He probably pulverized himself knowing it,” he told ABC News.
The attack on Omar was a reminder of the country’s threatening political climate, which has prompted some lawmakers to limit public events or not seek re-election.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, said she knows how Omar felt because a gunman showed up at her Seattle home in 2022, threatening her and her husband.
“It has to stop. I mean, we’re just trying to do our job and, it could be quiet and it could be called by Trump and the leaders in elected office who refuse to accept it, but they keep doing it and that’s the consequence,” Jayapal told The Associated Press.
The suspect supported Trump
The man accused of throwing the substance at Omar has a criminal record and has posted online in support of the Republican president.
Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, was convicted of carjacking in 1989, has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence and received numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications that he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.
Police say Kazmierczak used a syringe to douse Omar during Tuesday’s event after she called for the disbandment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the firing or removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Officers immediately approached and arrested Kazmierczak.
Photos of the syringe, which fell out when the man was attacked, show what appears to be a light brown liquid inside. Authorities have not publicly identified the substance.
Kazmierczak had not been formally charged or scheduled for an initial court appearance as of Wednesday afternoon. Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesman for the Hennepin County Prosecutor’s Office, said they have not yet received the results of the police investigation. A statement from the Minneapolis Police Department said the FBI is now leading the investigation.
It is unclear whether Kazmierczak had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. County Chief Public Defender Michael Berger said the case has not been assigned to his office.
In social media posts, Kazmierczak criticized former President Joe Biden and referred to Democrats as “angry and liars.” Trump “wants America to be stronger and more prosperous,” he wrote. “Stop other countries stealing from us.”
In another post, Kazmierczak asked, “When will the descendants of slaves pay restitution to the families of the Union soldiers for freeing/dying for them and not sending them back to Africa?”
A Trump target from the start
Omar’s safety has been an issue for years. After Trump’s initial round of social media attacks during his first year in Congress, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Capitol Police to conduct a security assessment. Omar said six officers provided round-the-clock protection for her and her family.
In 2021, Omar played an audio of a death threat he received over the phone during a press conference. The caller used racist and anti-Muslim slurs during the recording. The congresswoman at the time called on her fellow Republicans to oppose “anti-Muslim hatred” in their ranks.
The following year, a man was sentenced to three years of probation by a federal judge on federal hate crime charges after he sent an email to Omar threatening to kill her.
Trump has stepped up his criticism of Omar in recent months as he turned his attention to 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 US. He, too, 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.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today, paying for security, having the government think about providing me with security, if Donald Trump wasn’t in office and if he wasn’t so obsessed with me,” Omar said Wednesday.
Parliamentarians face increasing threats
The attack on Omar came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat, in the face at a private party during the Sundance Film Festival.
Christian Joel Young, 28, said “we’re going to deport you and everyone around you” before punching the congressman, according to an affidavit. He was charged in state court Tuesday with two counts of assault and criminal trespass for breaking into the bar.
A judge ordered him held without bail. Young’s attorney declined to comment.
Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years, peaking in 2021 after the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, before falling slightly only to climb again, according to the latest figures from the US Capitol Police.
“Almost all of us receive threats on a very regular basis,” said Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Omar has been leading the group for the past few weeks while Casar has been on paternity leave. The congressman described Omar as “tough as nails” and said Trump should rein in his rhetoric about her.
“The goal of what these violent actors want is for us to be silent, and we simply cannot give in to that,” Casar said.
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Biesecker and Brown reported from Washington. Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and RJ Rico in Atlanta contributed.