Man disrupts Ilhan Omar event in Minnesota, sprays her with liquid

By Kanishka Singh and Daniel Trotta

Jan 27 (Reuters) – A man charged at Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar and sprayed a foul-smelling liquid on her during a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday as she condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota.

Video showed a man surging toward the U.S. lawmaker at the lectern and spraying a stream of liquid at her. A large man immediately grabbed him and took him to the ground. Omar took a few steps toward the man with her hand raised before he was subdued and she continued her presentation after a brief break.

Minneapolis police said officers at the scene observed the man use a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at Omar. Police immediately arrested him for third-degree assault and said Omar was uninjured. Forensic scientists responded to process the scene, police said.

“He sprayed something on her,” a woman at the town hall could be heard saying, while at least one woman commented on the foul odor. “I need a napkin,” Omar remarked as the man was taken away, before she said, “We will continue.”

Omar was criticizing ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when the man charged at her and called for her to resign in the wake of the shooting death of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in recent weeks during President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement surge.

“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 as the crowd in the town hall applauded. 

The man then charged at her and sprayed the liquid at her before saying: “You must resign.” 

Omar has frequently come under political attack from Trump, who once called her “garbage.”

During a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump said Omar did not love the United States.

“They have to show that they can love our country, they have to be proud,” Trump said when talking about immigrants. “Not like Ilhan Omar,” he added.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; editing by Michelle Nichols and Christian Schmollinger)