Man seated in front row sprays lawmaker with contents of what police described as a syringe, telling her \u201cyou must resign\u201d
\n MINNEAPOLIS
\nPolice arrested a man who sprayed Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar with a foul-smelling liquid in Minneapolis on Tuesday as she condemned the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota.
\nOmar, the frequent target of political insults from President Donald Trump, was uninjured.
\nA security guard immediately grabbed the man and took him to the ground, according to a Reuters witness and video of the town hall event.
\nPolice said they arrested the man for third-degree assault.
\nIn her remarks, Omar was criticising ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that Noem resign after the recent shooting deaths of two US citizens in Minneapolis during Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement surge.
\n\u201cICE cannot be reformed, it cannot be rehabilitated, we must abolish ICE for good, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,\u201d Omar said, to applause.
\nMoments later, a man seated in a front row stepped toward her and sprayed her with the contents of what police described as a syringe, telling Omar, \u201cYou must resign.\u201d
\nOmar defiantly took a few steps toward him, with her hand raised, before he was subdued.
\nShe continued her remarks after a short break, resisting associates\u2019 urging to seek medical attention, saying she just needed a napkin. Her office later issued a statement saying she was OK.
\nForensic scientists were gathering evidence at the scene, Minneapolis police said in a statement.
\nA Reuters witness said the liquid smelled of ammonia and caused minor throat irritation.
\n\u201cI learned at a young age, you don\u2019t give in to threats,\u201d Omar told the audience, after refusing to suspend the event. \u201cYou look them in the face and you stand strong.\u201d Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar in public remarks and social media posts, also taking aim at her Somali nationality.
\n\u201cIlhan Omar is garbage,\u201d Trump said during a cabinet meeting in December. \u201cShe\u2019s garbage. Her friends are garbage.\u201d
\nOmar, 43, came to the United States as a 12-year-old girl and became a US citizen in 2000.
\nOn Tuesday, US Capitol Police said its threat assessment cases rose in 2025 for the third year in a row, spiking nearly 58% from 2024.
\nIn 2025, it investigated 14,938 instances of statements, behaviour, and communications directed against members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol complex, it added, up from 9,474 in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Man seated in front row sprays lawmaker with contents of what police described as a syringe, telling her \u201cyou must resign\u201d MINNEAPOLIS Police arrested a man who sprayed Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar with a foul-smelling liquid in Minneapolis on Tuesday as she condemned the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-528262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n