‘None of it will ever stop her from fighting’: Zohran Mamdani reacts to attack on Ilhan Omar
Omar was speaking about the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota on Tuesday when she was sprayed with a foul-smelling liquid.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a town hall in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has termed the attack on Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, calling it ‘disgusting’. In a post on X, Mamdani also said that he was relieved to learn that she was okay after the attack on her during a town hall in Minneapolis by a man who sprayed her with an unknown liquid from a syringe.
Mamdani further said that such attacks will not stop Omar from standing up for the people of Minneapolis.
“The attack on @IlhanMN last night was disgusting and I am relieved that she is okay. Time and again, she has stood up to ugly racism & intimidation and none of it will ever stop her from fighting for MN,” Mamdani said in a post on X.
The attack on @IlhanMN last night was disgusting and I am relieved that she is okay. Time and again, she has stood up to ugly racism & intimidation and none of it will ever stop her from fighting for MN.
Omar was speaking about the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota on Tuesday when she was sprayed with a foul-smelling liquid.
A security guard immediately grabbed the man and took him to the ground. The attacker, who has been identified as 55-year-old Anthony James Kazmierczak, has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault.
Forensic scientists were gathering evidence at the scene, Minneapolis police said in a statement.
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A Reuters witness said the liquid smelled of ammonia and caused minor throat irritation.
“I learned at a young age, you don’t give in to threats,” Omar told the audience, after refusing to suspend the event. “You look them in the face and you stand strong.”
Omar, who was born in Somalia and came to the US at the age of 12, has been the frequent target of political insults from Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
In recent months, Trump and many of his supporters have baselessly claimed that Omar came to the US illegally and that she should be deported.
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“Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting in December.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a town hall in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP) 
