Who sprayed Ilhan Omar? What was sprayed on her at the town hall? What do we know?

Amid weeks of unrest and violence in the Twin Cities of the Midwestern state, a man has been criminally charged after a video surfaced showing an unknown liquid being sprayed on a lawmaker during a town hall event in Minnesota.

Somalia-born Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar was sprayed with a substance by a man while she was speaking at a gathering on January 27.

The man hurriedly sprayed something on Omar’s body using what appeared to be a syringe-like device, while demanding the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He also shouted something at Omar, but what he said was not clearly audible in the footage of the incident.

Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson Trevor Folke said that Omar—who is frequently a target of fiery rhetoric from President Donald Trump—was not injured.

The attack occurred amid rising tensions this month after federal immigration agents fatally shot two people in Minneapolis: Alex Preti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who treated military veterans, and Rene Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother of three. The Department of Homeland Security said a third person was shot in Minneapolis on January 14 but survived.

What was sprayed on Ilhan Omar during the event? Who sprayed her? Here is what we know so far.

Who is Ilhan Omar?

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is an American lawmaker and the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes urban parts of Minneapolis in eastern Hennepin County, as well as portions of Ramsey and Anoka counties.

Omar, 43, is a Democrat and has held the seat since 2019.

Before being elected to Congress, she served in the Minnesota House from 2017 to 2019, representing parts of Minneapolis.

What was sprayed on Ilhan Omar at the town hall?

Minneapolis police said the man used “a syringe to spray an unknown liquid” on Omar.

Omar paused briefly outside the town hall as bystanders immediately restrained the man, who was then arrested by police. Later, Omar issued a statement saying she would not be intimidated by “this minor agitator.”

Police said city forensic scientists arrived at the scene to examine the incident.

As of January 28, police had not confirmed what the substance was.

Megan Larson, communications director for the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, deferred questions about the incident and the case to the FBI, saying the FBI is now the lead law enforcement agency investigating the matter. The FBI referred comment to the U.S. Capitol Police. USA Today contacted the federal agency for comment.

Who sprayed Ilhan Omar?

Police identified the suspect accused of attacking Omar as 55-year-old Anthony James Kazmierczak.

On January 28, Kazmierczak was taken to the Hennepin County Jail, where he was held without bail on a third-degree assault charge.

It was not immediately clear whether he had obtained legal counsel.

In a phone call, Trump told ABC News that he had not seen the video, but he referred to Omar as “a fraud” and claimed that the congresswoman “probably knowingly sprayed herself.” There is no evidence that Omar staged the incident.

“I didn’t see it,” Trump said about the attack video. “No, no. Hopefully I won’t have to deal with it.”