Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked during town hall meeting in Minneapolis

In a live stream of the event, a man walks up and sprays what appears to be liquid at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) before he is taken away by security.

( Video available at the link https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/01/27/ilhan-omar-attack-town-hall-minneapolis/ )

January 27, 2026 at 9:57pm (Minneapolis time)

By Niha Masih

A man attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) while she was speaking during a Tuesday town hall meeting in Minneapolis, according to local police. The man used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at Omar, the police said.

The meeting was being held in the wake of events that have roiled the state, including the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol last week.

“We must abolish ICE for good. And (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,” Omar said just before the man walked up to her.

The man was immediately arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third degree assault, the police statement added.

A live stream of the event shows the man being tackled and taken away by security. Omar appears unharmed and continues speaking.

“We are Minnesota strong. We will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,” she says.

In a social media post after the attack, Omar said she was all right and thanked her constituents for rallying behind her. “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work,” she wrote on X.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) called the attack on Omar “unacceptable.”

“Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk,” he said in a tweet.

Hours earlier, President Donald Trump spoke derisively of Omar at an event in Iowa. “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. Probably it’s considered, I think, the worst — it’s not even a country, okay? It barely has a government,” he said, referring to Somalia.

Matt Viser and Kadia Goba contributed to this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.