Omar was not injured in the attack on Tuesday, and authorities said the assailant \u2013 an unnamed man \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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The brief attack was captured on video by C-SPAN and showed a man rushing Omar\u2019s podium as she called for the abolition of ICE and the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\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 seconds before the attack.<\/p>\n
Her attacker can be heard saying, \u201cYou must resign\u201d, as he sprayed her with a syringe containing a dark-coloured liquid.<\/p>\n
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, \u201cOh my God, he sprayed something on her\u201d, as others gasped in shock around Omar.<\/p>\n
Omar told her supporters that she was \u201cgood\u201d despite protests that the liquid sprayed on her smelled \u201cterrible\u201d and that she should undergo a medical check-up.<\/p>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260128__94944EN__v1__HighRes__UsPoliticsOmar-1769566202.jpg\")
Ilhan Omar, right, reacts after being sprayed with an unknown substance by a man as she hosts a town hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 27, 2026 [Octavio Jones\/AFP]<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the reality that people like this ugly man don\u2019t understand: We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,\u201d she told cheering audience members as she returned to the podium to resume calls for Noem\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
Omar, a Democratic congresswoman, wrote on X shortly after the event ended: \u201cI\u2019m OK. I\u2019m a survivor so this small agitator isn\u2019t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don\u2019t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Omar\u2019s attack was immediately condemned online.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk,\u201d Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said on X.<\/p>\n
South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace also condemned the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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 \u2013 and I do \u2013 no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are,\u201d Mace wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Omar, a Somali American and former refugee, has come under fire in the past from US conservatives for opposing Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza and her more progressive stances on issues such as immigration reform.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n