Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar attacked throughout city corridor assembly | Politics News | USAEMALL.com

Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance during the attack by a man, who was then tackled to the ground.

United States Representative for Minnesota Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by an assailant while calling for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis.

Omar was not injured in the attack on Tuesday, and authorities said the assailant – an unnamed man – was arrested on third-degree assault charges, according to the Reuters news agency. They did not disclose further information about the liquid sprayed on Omar.

The brief attack was captured on video by C-SPAN and showed a man rushing Omar’s podium as she called for the abolition of ICE and the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

“ICE cannot be reformed. It cannot be rehabilitated; we must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,” Omar said seconds before the attack.

Her attacker can be heard saying, “You must resign”, as he sprayed her with a syringe containing a dark-coloured liquid.

He was quickly tackled to the ground by security officers to the cheers of audience members. A member of the audience can then be heard saying, “Oh my God, he sprayed something on her”, as others gasped in shock around Omar.

Omar told her supporters that she was “good” despite protests that the liquid sprayed on her smelled “terrible” and that she should undergo a medical check-up.

“Here’s the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand: We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,” she told cheering audience members as she returned to the podium to resume calls for Noem’s resignation.

Omar, a Democratic congresswoman, wrote on X shortly after the event ended: “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. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”

Omar’s attack was immediately condemned online.

“Unacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said on X.

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace also condemned the attack.

“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today. Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric – and I do – no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are,” Mace wrote on X.

Omar, a Somali American and former refugee, has come under fire in the past from US conservatives for opposing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and her more progressive stances on issues such as immigration reform.

She is also a vocal opponent of Operation Metro Surge, a huge ICE crackdown launched in December to arrest undocumented immigrants in the city of Minneapolis.

Confrontations between ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents with city residents have led to federal agents killing two US citizens this month, including 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday.

Omar is also strongly disliked by President Donald Trump, who last month called her “garbage” and said he would investigate her finances in light of an alleged corruption scandal involving members of the Somali-American community.

Omar made history in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to the US Congress. She was elected for a third term in 2024, representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, covering Minneapolis and surrounding districts.

Omar is also the deputy chair of the Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives, a group of 100 legislators with “progressive ideals”, such as immigration reform, universal healthcare, and debt-free university education.