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New Delhi: US lawmaker Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown, foul-smelling liquid during a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday. A man sprayed the substance at her while she was condemning the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city.
According to officers at the scene, the man used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at Omar. The accused was grabbed by a person and pinned to the ground before authorities arrested him for third-degree assault. Police said Omar did not receive any injury and that forensic scientists responded to process the scene.
Accused demands Ilhan Omar's resignation
Omar, a Somali-based Democratic US Representative, was criticising ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when the accused charged at her.
The US lawmaker demanded Noem's resignation over the recent killing of two US citizens in Minneapolis during President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement drive. Residents in Minneapolis have been protesting against ICE agents for fatally shooting down an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month during federal immigration enforcement.
"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." A video from the event shows the man rushing toward Omar as she delivers speech and spraying a stream of liquid at her.
Omar says she is fine
Following the incident, Omar said she felt a little flustered but was not hurt. She was going to be screened by a medical team.
She later wrote on the social platform, X: "I'm ok. I'm a survivor, so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don't let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong."
Trump's repeated crticism of Omar
The US President has repeatedly crticised Omar and mounted his attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, Trump said Omar did not love the United States as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa. He said that his administration would only let in immigrants who "can show that they love our country". "They have to show that they can love our country, they have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar," Trump said when talking about immigrants. "She comes from a country that's a disaster. So probably, it's considered, I think - it's not even a country," he added.
