Trump's Most Fierce Critic Ilhan Omar Assaulted in Minneapolis

The assault on Representative Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall underscores how America’s immigration debate is increasingly colliding with personal security for elected officials.

Omar, the Democratic representative for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was sprayed with an unknown dark-colored liquid on Tuesday as she called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and urged the resignation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

Authorities arrested an unnamed man on third-degree assault charges. Omar was not injured, and police said no further details about the substance were immediately available, according to Reuters.

Video carried by C-SPAN showed the assailant rushing the podium moments after Omar said, “ICE cannot be reformed. It cannot be rehabilitated; we must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.”

As he sprayed her with a syringe, he shouted, “You must resign,” before security tackled him to the ground. Audience members gasped as one voice said, “Oh my God, he sprayed something on her.”

Omar briefly stepped away, then returned to the podium, telling supporters she was “good,” even as some urged her to seek medical attention because the liquid “smelled terrible.”

“I don’t let bullies win”

Soon after, Omar posted on X that she was ok adding “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win,” She went on to thank her constituents for rallying behind her.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the incident, writing that violence and intimidation “have no place in Minneapolis,” while South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace said that regardless of her vehement political disagreement with Ilhan Omar, “no elected official should face physical attacks.”

Omar, first elected to Congress in 2018 and re-elected for a third term in 2024, is one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and now acts as deputy chair of the Progressive Caucus, a bloc of roughly 100 lawmakers advocating policies such as immigration reform, universal healthcare, and debt-free university education. She is also a leading critic of Operation Metro Surge, an ICE crackdown launched in December in Minneapolis, amid confrontations between federal agents and residents that this month resulted in two U.S. citizens being killed, including 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti.

Escalating Rhetoric, Hardening Lines

The attack comes against a backdrop of sustained political hostility. President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar, reportedly dsiregarding her American citizenship, including making calls to throw her out of the country.

On Nov. 28, 2025, he said she “does nothing but complain about our country and our constitution,” adding that Somalia, a country she was originally from, was “practically no country.”

On Jan. 13, Trump said Omar “lives in Somalia,” even though she doesnt, claiming the country had “no government” and invoking U.S. missile strikes with a “PINGGG” remark.

Omar has pushed back publicly. On Dec. 7, 2025, she wrote that it was “disgusting” that Trump’s rhetoric labeling Somali Americans as “garbage” had gone unchecked, stressing, “These are US citizens he is denigrating.”

She has also spoken against his anti-immigration campaign in Minnesota, saying “Somali Minnesotans are resilient. We will not let Trump or ICE intimidate us.”

While authorities have not officially linked the Minneapolis assault to national political rhetoric, the convergence of ICE operations, Trump’s comments, and direct action against lawmakers highlights the strain on civic spaces.

Omar’s district centers on Minneapolis and surrounding areas, placing her at the front line of immigration enforcement debates that now carry visible security consequences, specially when the president makes polarizing rhetoric in public.