Who Attacked Ilhan Omar? What We Know So Far

We reported Tuesday evening about the bizarre attack on the far-left Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-5) in Minneapolis. As RedState’s Susie Moore wrote, Omar was “speaking at a town hall event there when a man approached her and appeared to spray an unknown substance at her while pointing and yelling at her.” 

The man was quickly taken down by what appeared to be a security guard, and an apparently unharmed Omar initially moved toward the assailant and yelled angrily at him.

Although the situation ended without serious injury, it could have been much worse – how was this apparently deranged individual able to get so close to a sitting member of the House of Representatives?

Speculation quickly spread across social media: was it staged? Was the man a far-right psycho, or a leftist freak?

Here’s what we know so far. Let’s start with his name: Anthony Kazmierczak, 55. 

 

He was booked into Hennepin County Jail for third-degree assault following the incident. Although he doesn’t appear to have a previous violent record, he’s got some DUIs under his belt.

 

Kazmierczak does not appear to have ever been charged with a violent crime in Minnesota. He has twice been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol, according to court records reviewed by Newsweek. Court filings from a divorce case in 2017 said he has two children, was not employed and was receiving disability insurance payments. He has been married and divorced twice, CNN said, citing Minnesota’s official marriage and divorce records.

Many noted he appeared to be possibly under the influence:

He seems to have plenty of opinions:

A bankruptcy petition for an Anthony Kazmierczak filed in Minnesota's third district in January 2019 showed he had credit, medical and legal debt. The filing said he was living in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis, not married, registered as disabled and receiving Social Security payments.

A Facebook profile, reported by CNN to belong to Kazmierczak, has a history of political posts, including criticism of Democrats such as former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. In October 2021, he posted a political cartoon criticizing Omar’s security spending.

Weirdly, according to the NY Post, he hinted at his intentions to his neighbor prior to the event:

The maniac who allegedly attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar with a mystery liquid at a Minnesota town hall meeting had hinted in a cryptic text to a neighbor that he “might get arrested” at the event…

“He said, ‘I’m going to this Omar thing.’ I’m like, Omar what? He said, ‘This town hall thing.’ And he said, ‘I might get arrested,’” Kelley told The Post.

“I figured it was nonsense. He wasn’t going to do anything stupid. I said, ‘Sure, I’ll walk her.’ But then the next day he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it covered.’ I figured he blew that off.”

Kazmierczak is currently being held without bail. Whatever his motivations were, he is apparently going to face some stiff consequences.