The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against the man who sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar with apple cider vinegar during a press conference.
In court records filed Wednesday and made public Thursday, the Justice Department accused Anthony Kazmierczak of “forcibly assaulting, resisting, obstructing, threatening, and obstructing” Omar while performing his official duties.
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The complaint included an affidavit from Derek Fossi, a special agent assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Minnesota field office.
Fossi witnessed the incident. He described how, on January 27, during a town hall in Omar’s hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kazmierczak suddenly stood up and interrupted Omar.
“Mr. Kazmierczak had a syringe in his hand and as he continued to rapidly approach Congresswoman Omar, he sprayed her with an initially unidentified liquid from the syringe,” Fossi said in the affidavit.
Omar was speaking at a town hall about her anger over the surge in federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis area, which is part of the Congressional district she represents.
Republican President Donald Trump’s administration is targeting Democratic-led areas in part because of their large Somali-American communities, of which Omar is a member.
She blamed the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), particularly Secretary Kristi Noem, for the violence that occurred as a result of immigration raids.
“Renee Goode should still be alive. Alex Preti should still be alive,” Omar said of the two Americans killed in recent shootings by federal agents.
Good was shot in her car by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on January 7, and Preti was killed on January 24 when two Customs and Border Protection agents reportedly opened fire.
Omar then called for accountability from the Trump administration and reform of its “reckless and lawless” practices.
“ICE cannot be reformed. It cannot be revitalized. We must abolish ICE for good, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,” Omar said seconds before Kazmierczak stood up from his front row seat and sprayed her.
Fossi later described hearing Kazmierczak say, with his back turned, “She’s not going to resign. You’re dividing Minnesotans.”
The incident raised serious concerns, especially in the immediate aftermath, because it was unclear what kind of substance Omar had been attacked with and whether it was dangerous.
Thursday’s affidavit outlined several incidents in which Mr. Kazmierczak appears to have criticized the representative or threatened violence.
According to court documents, investigators interviewed Mr. Kazmierczak’s “aides” and said they heard him say on the phone several years ago, “Someone should kill that son of a bitch.” The interviewee allegedly told investigators that he believed Kazmierczak was referring to Omar.
The affidavit also included a cartoon Kazmierczak posted on his Facebook account criticizing Omar’s role in the so-called “defund the police” movement.
Omar had called for a “rebuild” of the Minneapolis Police Department following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a black man whose heart stopped after a police officer knelt on his neck.
Omar, a member of the Congressional Progressives group known by the nickname “The Squad,” has long been a target of right-wing criticism.
President Trump, in particular, has repeatedly mocked Omar and spread false rumors about her, including insinuations of incest.
This week, during a midterm campaign stop in Clive, Iowa, he questioned her and other immigrants’ patriotism.
“They have to show they can love our country. They have to be proud. Not like Ilhan Omar,” he said to a booing crowd. “Did you see that smart person? She’s always saying, ‘The Constitution gives me the following.'” The Constitution? She comes from a country hit by disaster. It’s not even a country. ”
This was the latest in a series of derogatory comments President Trump has made about Somalia and Omar personally.
For example, at a Cabinet meeting on December 2nd, President Trump used Omar as an example of the “trash” that the US immigration system allegedly brings in.
Omar arrived in the United States as a child refugee at age 12 after fleeing Somalia’s civil war. She has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since 2019.
Critics have been warning for years about an increase in political violence in the United States, and just this week, the U.S. Capitol Police released a report saying they had investigated 14,938 “relevant statements” made against members of Congress last year alone.
This was a significant increase compared to 2024, when 9,474 such threats were investigated.
Since the vinegar-spraying incident, Omar has held another press conference in which she denounced the “hateful comments” directed at her since taking office.
She added that death threats increase when the president mentions her name. But she insisted she would not give in.
“The fact that I’m here should tell you that fear and intimidation don’t work on me,” she said.
