‘I don’t let bullies win’: Ilhan Omar reacts after attack during Minneapolis town hall
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
While Donald Trump suggested he would “de-escalate” operations in Minneapolis, congresswoman Ilhan Omar was attacked and sprayed with an unknown substance at a town hall event in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening – where she was calling for the abolition of ICE “for good”.
A man lunged toward her with a syringe and sprayed the politician, before security tackled him to the ground. The alleged attacker, who has been identified as a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault. Jail records identified the man as Anthony James Kazmierczak.
Omar stepped toward the attacker before returning to the podium to say: “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 on us.”
Omar, who was not injured in the attack, later posted on social media that she was OK, adding: “I don’t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me.”
Hours before the attack on Omar, president Donald Trump criticised the congresswoman as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, where he said his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said. The crowd responded with a booing sound as he mentioned her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think – it’s not even a country.”
Omar and her family escaped civil war in Somalia when she was eight years old, and sought asylum in the United States after years in a refugee camp in Kenya. She is a US citizen.
There have been days of protest and international outcry over the Saturday shooting of 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti, the second fatal shooting of a US civilian by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis.
The White House is also evaluating whether federal agents who gunned down a nurse may have failed to follow “clear guidance” to “create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors”, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told AFP.
The White House later said that Miller was referring to “general guidance” to immigration agents operating in the state, rather than the specific incident in which Pretti was killed.
Trump told Fox News “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” while adding that it was not a “pullback.”
Updated at 07.39 EST
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Trump says a “massive armada” is heading to Iran
President Donald Trump has said a “massive armada” is heading to Iran and is ready to “fulfil its mission with speed and violence if necessary”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Iran should be ready to enter negotiations to find a “fair and equitable deal” that stops them from having nuclear weapons. “Time is running out, it is truly of the essence,” he says.
This comes after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told state media in Iran that he has not been in contact with US envoy Steve Witkoff in the past couple of days. Previously, Iran had said there was always a channel of communication between the two.
Updated at 07.59 EST
The man accused of assaulting congresswoman Ilhan Omar has a reported history of sharing political posts, including one that criticised Omar, on social media.
According to CNN, the 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, who has been identified as Anthony James Kazmierczak through jail records, has shared political posts in the past, in. In 2021, he shared a political cartoon criticising Omar’s stance on security spending amid calls to defund police.
The outlet reports that he also reposted transphobic content made by conservative social media commentator Ben Shapiro. Also, after the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in September, the accused attacker changed his social media profile picture to an image of Donald Trump speaking at a Turning Point USA event, later replacing it with a photo of Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk alongside Trump.
ShareEcuador says ICE agent attempted to enter its consulate in Minneapolis
The Ecuadorian government has said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter its Minneapolis consulate on Tuesday, but was prevented from coming in by staff working at the building.
This has prompted Ecuador’s government to send a formal protest note to US authorities “so that acts of this nature are not repeated at any of Ecuador’s consular offices in the United States.”
Videos circulating on social media appear to show a consulate staffer running to the door to turn the ICE agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.”
Under international law, law enforcement authorities are prohibited from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission. However, sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.
The Guardian has reached out to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.
Share‘I don’t let bullies win’: Ilhan Omar reacts after attack during Minneapolis town hall
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
While Donald Trump suggested he would “de-escalate” operations in Minneapolis, congresswoman Ilhan Omar was attacked and sprayed with an unknown substance at a town hall event in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening – where she was calling for the abolition of ICE “for good”.
A man lunged toward her with a syringe and sprayed the politician, before security tackled him to the ground. The alleged attacker, who has been identified as a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault. Jail records identified the man as Anthony James Kazmierczak.
Omar stepped toward the attacker before returning to the podium to say: “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 on us.”
Omar, who was not injured in the attack, later posted on social media that she was OK, adding: “I don’t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me.”
Hours before the attack on Omar, president Donald Trump criticised the congresswoman as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, where he said his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said. The crowd responded with a booing sound as he mentioned her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think – it’s not even a country.”
Omar and her family escaped civil war in Somalia when she was eight years old, and sought asylum in the United States after years in a refugee camp in Kenya. She is a US citizen.
There have been days of protest and international outcry over the Saturday shooting of 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti, the second fatal shooting of a US civilian by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis.
The White House is also evaluating whether federal agents who gunned down a nurse may have failed to follow “clear guidance” to “create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors”, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told AFP.
The White House later said that Miller was referring to “general guidance” to immigration agents operating in the state, rather than the specific incident in which Pretti was killed.
Trump told Fox News “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” while adding that it was not a “pullback.”
Updated at 07.39 EST