Man Arrested After Spraying Substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Town Hall

Members of the audience tackled the attacker as Omar said she was unharmed.

A man shouts at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after spraying her during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis on Jan. 27, 2026, in a still image from video. Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters

A man armed with a syringe sprayed a mysterious liquid at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) during a town hall she held in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Audience members tackled and restrained him as cheers broke out in the room. He has been arrested.

The incident took place after Omar called for dismantling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and demanded the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“ICE cannot be reformed,” she said during her speech.

Video footage posted on X captured the chaos, with a voice in the crowd heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Journalists at the scene reported a pungent, vinegar-like odor from the substance, described as light brown in color.

Minneapolis police confirmed officers observed the man, who wore a black jacket, deploy the syringe toward Omar. They arrested him on the spot and charged him with third-degree assault, according to department spokesperson Trevor Folke.

The Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately return The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Omar’s security team swiftly removed the suspect, allowing the congresswoman to resume the event. Omar insisted on continuing her speech, saying she would not succumb to intimidation. Exiting the venue later, Omar described feeling slightly rattled but uninjured, adding she planned to undergo medical evaluation.

“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,” Omar later wrote in a post on X. “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

The incident occurred against a backdrop of escalating tensions in Minneapolis over federal immigration enforcement operations, following the fatal shooting by agents of activists Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good earlier this month.

Lawmakers condemned the assault.

“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) posted on X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric—and I do—no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey echoed the sentiment on X: “Unacceptable. Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk.”

He expressed relief that Omar “is okay” and praised police for their prompt action, saying, “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”

The assault comes days after another man was arrested and charged after allegedly punching Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on Saturday.

Threats against lawmakers have increased

in recent years. According to U.S. Capitol Police data, there were 14,938 cases in 2025, making it the third year in a row of steady increases.

Threats peaked in 2021, following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, with 9,625 cases investigated by the USCP. There was a brief decline in 2022, with 7,501 cases, and then numbers rose again to 8,008 in 2023 and 9,474 in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.