Justice Department Charges Man Who Sprayed Ilhan Omar at Town Hall

The Department of Justice filed a federal criminal complaint charging Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, with forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar after he allegedly sprayed a liquid from a syringe at her during a Jan. 27 Minneapolis town hall, according to court documents.

The attack occurred minutes after U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign, and officials said it followed unrest stemming from the Jan. 7 killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar said at a Jan. 28 news conference that President Donald Trump's repeated hostile rhetoric has increased death threats against her, while President Donald Trump told ABC News he had not seen the footage and suggested without evidence that "she probably had herself sprayed, knowing her," reflecting sharply conflicting public responses.

A Minneapolis Police Department field test and a forensic team in an FBI affidavit indicated the liquid stained Omar's clothing and was a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar, and court documents show Anthony James Kazmierczak has convictions dating to 1989 and DUI convictions in 2009 and 2010.

The FBI said it is leading a continuing investigation, sent the substance to a state laboratory for further testing, prosecutors assigned the federal case to Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster, and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office has until Jan. 29 to decide whether to pursue state charges, officials confirmed.