Rep. Ilhan Omar claimed the disturbing syringe attack against her was motivated by anger over not enough Somalis being deported \u2013 and suggested President Trump is to blame for the assault.<\/b>
\nRep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) claimed the disturbing syringe attack against her was motivated by anger over not enough Somalis being deported \u2013 and suggested President Trump is to blame for the assault.
\u201cThe man that attacked me was specifically upset that Trump\u2019s order to deport Somalis was not yielding enough deportations of Somalis,\u201d the \u201cSquad\u201d lawmaker told reporters Wednesday, during a press conference at Minneapolis\u2019 Karmel Mall.
\u201cHe wanted to come get the person he thought was protecting the Somalis,\u201d Omar said of the 55-year-old suspect Anthony Kazmierczak.
Kazmierczak rushed the stage during a town hall event in North Minneapolis Wednesday and used a syringe to spray the Somali-born congresswoman with a foul-smelling liquid, according to witnesses and video footage.
The liquid was later determined to be apple cider vinegar.
Kazmierczak, who was described by a neighbor as being \u201cheavily medicated\u201d and a Trump supporter, is being held by authorities on third-degree assault charges.
Omar was uninjured in the attack and continued her remarks at the town hall a few moments after the incident.
\u201cBlame is very interesting, but facts are more important,\u201d Omar said.
The congresswoman claimed \u201cthe facts\u201d show that since she has held elected office, \u201cevery time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket.\u201d
The congresswoman said threats against her \u201cplummeted\u201d in the four years Trump was out of office, only to jump back up to \u201cthe highest\u201d of all members of Congress since Trump \u201creassumed his vitriol.\u201d
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be where I am at today \u2014 having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security \u2014 if Donald Trump wasn\u2019t in office and if he wasn\u2019t so obsessed with me,\u201d Omar charged.
\u201cIt is ironic that just last night, [Trump] was on stage, moments before I was attacked, talking about me,\u201d she continued, referring to remarks the president made at an Iowa rally.
\u201cThen when asked about my attack, he said, \u2018I don\u2019t think about her.\u2019 Does he not remember? Is he suffering from dementia?\u201d
Trump \u2014 who has previously called for Omar to be jailed or deported \u2013 told rally-goers in Iowa Tuesday that the Minnesota congresswoman \u201ccomes from a country that\u2019s a disaster.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s considered, I think, the worst [country]. It\u2019s not even a country,\u201d he said.
The president later that Omar \u201cprobably had herself sprayed, knowing her.\u201d
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n