MINNEAPOLIS: Police arrested a man Tuesday who doused Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar with a foul-smelling liquid in Minneapolis, as she condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota.
Omar, a frequent target of political insults from President Donald Trump, was not injured.
A security guard immediately grabbed the man and threw him to the ground, according to a Reuters witness and video of the event at city hall.
Police said they arrested the man for third-degree assault.
In her remarks, Omar criticized ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that Noem resign following the recent shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during Trump’s immigration enforcement push.
“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 to applause.
Moments later, a man sitting in the front row approached her and sprayed her with the contents of what police described as a syringe, telling Omar: “You need to resign.”
Omar took a few steps toward him defiantly, his hand raised, before he was overpowered.
She continued her remarks after a short pause, resisting pressure from her associates to see a doctor, saying she just needed a towel. Her office later released a statement saying she was doing well.
Forensic scientists were gathering evidence at the scene, Minneapolis police said in a statement.
A Reuters A witness said the liquid smelled like ammonia and caused mild throat irritation.
“I learned at a very young age that you don’t give in to threats,” Omar told the audience, after refusing to suspend the event. “You look them in the face and you stay strong.”
Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar in public remarks and social media posts, also targeting his Somali nationality.
“Ilhan Omar is trash,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting in December. “She’s trash. Her friends are trash.”
Omar, 43, came to the United States at age 12 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Capitol Police said its threat assessment cases increased in 2025 for the third year in a row, peaking almost 58% from 2024.
In 2025, it investigated 14,938 instances of statements, conduct and communications directed against members of Congress, their families, their staff and the Capitol complex, it added, compared to 9,474 in 2024.
