House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed President Trump for speculating that Rep. Ilhan Omar staged an attack on herself by an assailant who sprayed an unknown substance at her during a town hall event.
The president told ABC News that Ms. Omar, Minnesota Democrat, “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
Mr. Trump said he hadn’t seen the video, saying he doesn’t “think about her. I think she’s a fraud.”
Mr. Jeffries said the president’s comment was “disgusting [and] the president’s lies and misinformation continue to fan the flames of these types of violent incidents.”
“It’s at a moment like this where we actually need leadership from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and it’s something that we never get from this president,” Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, said on CNN Wednesday.
Ms. Omar was calling for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign Tuesday night, just before a man in the front row of the audience approached her and sprayed an unknown substance out of a syringe onto the congresswoman.
SEE ALSO: Man tackled after spraying unknown substance on Ilhan Omar at town hall in Minneapolis
An Associated Press reporter in the room said the substance had a vinegar-like smell. Photos of the syringe show a dark yellow, almost brown-colored liquid inside.
The man, identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was tackled to the ground and pinned down. His arms were tied behind his back, and he was immediately arrested and booked for third-degree assault. Ms. Omar continued her event.
Mr. Kazmierczak, who expressed support for Mr. Trump on social media, has a criminal history including felony auto theft in 1989 and has multiple arrests for driving under the influence, according to court filings.
“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 said after the incident. “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”
Ms. Omar has been a frequent target of criticism from Mr. Trump and others who question her massive accumulation of wealth since winning a House seat in 2018.
The Biden administration opened an investigation in 2018 of Ms. Omar’s finances, campaign spending and interactions with a foreign citizen, according to a New York Times report this week.
Ms. Omar’s assets were valued at little more than $200,000 in 2024 but rose to $30 million last year, according to congressional financial disclosures. Her newfound wealth came from partnerships in two companies, a winery and a venture capital firm, both partly owned by her third husband, Tim Mynett.
The liquid attack at the town hall event was roundly condemned.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said on X: “Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk.”
Council on American-Islamic Relations also spoke out against the attack, saying it “comes after years of racist and Islamophobic incitement against her.”
“We call on all members of Congress to condemn this assault, which was entirely predictable,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement. “The dangerous incitement that politicians like President Trump, pro-Israel lobby groups like AIPAC, and anti-Muslim hate groups have spent years spewing against Rep. Omar must end immediately.”
Over the years, Mr. Trump has lobbed insults and accusations at Ms. Omar, who is a vocal critic of the president. Mr. Trump raised the volume of his criticism of Ms. Omar amid a massive Medicaid fraud scandal involving Minnesota’s Somali community.
He has criticized her Somali background and called her a “crooked congressman.”
He has said she should be “in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World.”
On Truth Social on Monday, he said the Justice Department and Congress are “looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Ilhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
“Time will tell all,” he wrote.
Ms. Omar hit back, “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking.”
“Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing,” she wrote. “Get your goons out of Minnesota.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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