Congresswoman Ilhan Omar attacked at town hall calling for abolition of ICE

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MINNEAPOLIS — US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance an assailant at a town hall meeting she was hosting on Tuesday, police said.

Omar, a Democrat in the House of Representatives from Minnesota, was not injured in the attack on Tuesday, and authorities said the unnamed assailant was arrested on third-degree assault charges, according to the Reuters news agency. They did not disclose further information about the substance sprayed on Omar.

The event was one of the regular town halls hosted by Omar, and about 100 people were in attendance in the north Minneapolis basement, expecting to hear about the presence of federal immigration officials in their town and ask questions after the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by immigration officials this month.

The brief attack was captured on video by C-SPAN and showed a man rushing Omar’s podium as she called for the abolition of of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

“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 seconds before the attack.

"I thought it was one of her aides going up to hand her a note or something," Jacquelynn Goessling said of the man who attacked Omar with liquid, the acrid smell of which consumed the front of the room.

In a statement on X, Omar said: "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."

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After the incident, Omar told the room that "we will continue... we are Minnesota strong".

Another attendee, Alfred Flowers Jr, told the BBC that he "respected her courage and strength to still stay and finish the town hall for the people".

Video from the scene shows the team shouting "make a hole" as they wrestled the man out of the room.

As he was pushed out of the room, he said Omar was "pitting us against each other". It was not immediately clear who the man was referring to.

In a post on social media, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: "Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk... This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city."

In 2019, Omar became the first Somali-American, first African-born American, and one of the first two Muslim American women to serve in the US Congress.

In January, an immigration officer fatally shot US citizen Renee Good. Last week, US citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot after being stopped by border agents, reigniting local protests and public outcry.

Officials pleaded with the Congresswoman to end the town hall but she insisted on continuing.

Speaking again at the podium Omar said: "We're gonna keep talking. Just give me ten minutes. Please don't let them have the show. Please don't let them have the show."

Many in the area see the increased immigration enforcement action as a response to President Donald Trump's dislike of Omar who he has called a "radical left lunatic". — Agencies