need to know
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The orange substance sprayed at Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s town hall on Tuesday, January 27 has been identified
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CNN and CBS cited law enforcement sources as saying the liquid in the syringe was likely apple cider vinegar.
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Omar seemed unfazed by the attack and continued the meeting after the man, later identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierzak, was escorted out of the building.
The orange substance that an attacker sprayed at Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s town hall on Tuesday, January 27, has been identified.
Forensic examiners determined that the liquid in a syringe used by a man later identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak was likely apple cider vinegar, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
CBS News also reported the news, citing investigators.
Omar’s office told CNN, citing preliminary reports, that the congresswoman was also likely sprayed with apple cider vinegar.
The Minneapolis Police Department and Omar’s spokesperson did not immediately respond when PEOPLE reached out to them for more information.
Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty
Before the attack, Omar, 43, had been speaking to voters about the ongoing unrest in Minneapolis and calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the resignation or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
According to C-SPAN footage, just after she mentioned Noem, Kazmierchak, who was sitting in the front row, jumped up and approached her and sprayed an unknown substance on her shirt with a syringe.
The video shows several people shouting worriedly, with one alerting the crowd that “he sprayed something.”
Kazmierchak was quickly arrested by security, tackled to the ground and escorted out of the building. He was later booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, police told PEOPLE.
After the chaos, Omar’s security and staff offered her a chance to end the town hall meeting, but the politician continued, “We’re going to continue. These f**king bastards are not going to get away with it.”
As she continued speaking, the congresswoman told the crowd, “The reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand is: We are strong Minnesotans and we will remain resilient no matter what they throw at us.”
Angelina Katsanis/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“I’m fine. I’m a survivor so this little instigator isn’t going to threaten me from doing my job,” Omar wrote in an X post after Tuesday’s incident.
“I’m not going to let the bully win,” she added. “Thank you to the incredible voters who rallied behind me. Minnesota is strong.”
When asked about the attack shortly after the attack, President Donald Trump showed little sympathy for Omar, whom he has repeatedly attacked in the media, calling her “trash” and saying she should be “jailed” or “sent back to Somalia.”
Trump said he had not seen the video of the attack, but told ABC News’ Rachel Scott, “I didn’t think about her. I thought she was a liar. She probably got trolled herself, knowing her.”
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Omar’s spokesperson did not immediately respond when PEOPLE reached out to him for comment on Trump’s remarks.
The attack on Omar came a day after the president said the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congress were “on the lookout” for the congresswoman, claiming she had “earned nothing and is now reportedly worth over $44 million. Time will tell,” he wrote in a Monday, January 26, Truth Society post.
Omar later responded in the
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