Anthony Kazmierczak detained after US politician Ilhan Omar sprayed with unknown substance
Anthony Kazmierczak was tackled and detained for lunging at Omar after she called for the abolition of ICE and resignation of Kristi Noem
A man identified as Anthony Kazmierczak was arrested by police after an attack on Democratic US congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Tuesday saw her sprayed with an unknown substance.
The incident came during a town hall in Minneapolis, where tensions with the federal government have come to a head after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deployed by US President Donald Trump fatally shot both an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month.
Footage from the town hall incident shows the audience cheering as Kazmierczak is dragged away and pinned down. Someone in the crowd can be heard saying: “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.”
Just before that, Omar – the representative for Minnesota’s fifth congressional district – had called for the abolition of ICE, and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment.
Calls are mounting on Capitol Hill for Noem to step down after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportations. Few Republicans have risen to her defence.
“ICE cannot be reformed,” Omar said, seconds before the attack.