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The man accused of attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has a criminal record, according to records reviewed by Digital.
During a town hall event hosted by Omar on Tuesday, a man later identified as 55-year-old Anthony James Kazmierczak allegedly attacked the congresswoman with an unknown chemical spray that had a foul odor. Kazmierczak was charged with third-degree assault and was booked at the Hennepin County Jail.
People around Omar pressured her to leave, but she continued the town hall.
“Please don’t let them have the show,” Omar said. “We will continue! These f—-ing a–holes are not going to get away with this.”
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A man is tackled after spraying an unknown substance at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 27, 2026. (Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)
Criminal records reviewed by Digital show that Kazmierczak was convicted of driving while intoxicated both in 2009 and 2010. The records indicate he served one day in jail followed by 5 years supervised probation for the 2010 conviction, and was put on home detention for 30 days in relation to his 2009 conviction.
A few days before Omar’s town hall, Kazmierczak texted his neighbor Brian Kelley and asked if he could watch his dog while going to see Omar speak, saying he might get arrested, according to the New York Post.
“He said, ‘I’m going to this Omar thing.’ I’m like, Omar what? He said, ‘This town hall thing.’ And he said, ‘I might get arrested,’” Kelley said. “I figured it was nonsense. He wasn’t going to do anything stupid. I said, ‘Sure, I’ll walk her.’ But then the next day he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it covered.’ I figured he blew that off.”
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Minneapolis Police identified the suspect as Anthony James Kazmierczak after he allegedly sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with an unknown substance. (Andy Kazmierczak / Facebook)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is rushed away by security after a man sprays an unknown substance during her town hall meeting in north Minneapolis. (Andy Kazmierczak / Facebook)
During the town hall, Omar referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “rogue agency” that “escalates violence.”
“ICE is shooting people in broad daylight, beating up teenagers, spraying tear gas on peaceful, peaceful protesters, ripping people out of their cars and homes without warrants, racially profiling people based on their accent, taking kids from schools and abducting people, shipping them far away detention camps with brutal conditions and no due process,” Omar said. “We cannot treat this as business as usual.”
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Security detains a suspect after Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is sprayed with an unknown substance while speaking at an in-person town hall in Minneapolis. (Andy Kazmierczak / Facebook)
She also called for the resignation or impeachment of United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“It is important for me to continue to lead my Democratic colleagues in demanding [Noem’s] resignation,” she said.
