The Minnesota Democrat’s comments come in the wake of a Jan. 27 attack in which a man sprayed her with an unknown substance. She linked the attack to negative comments the president had made about her.
Ilhan Omar addresses attack, says President Trump is ‘obsessed’ with her
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar mentioned an attack at City Hall in Minneapolis in which she was sprayed with an unknown substance.
Somali-born Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar lashed out at President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, suggesting he has “dementia” and is “obsessed” with her and linking the president’s comments to recent attacks on her.
“The man who attacked me last night was particularly angry that President Trump’s order to deport Somalis wasn’t deporting enough Somalis, so he wanted to come and get the person he thought was protecting Somalis,” said the 5th Minnesota congressman. “Well, we’re protected by the Constitution. I’m sorry, but I’m telling you the truth. We are protected by the Constitution.”
Omar spoke at a news conference on January 28 outside the Somali Mall in Minneapolis, along with local lawmakers and Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley. Omar and other speakers called for federal immigration authorities to be held accountable for their actions in Minnesota, including the shooting deaths of Alex Preti and Renee Nicole Good.
The lawmaker’s decision to appear in public came shortly after Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, rushed at her and sprayed her with an unknown substance before he was arrested. Omar was unharmed.
“Does he have dementia?”
Omar’s comments about the president came hours after Trump said of Democrats, “I don’t care about her. I think she’s a fraud…Maybe she knowingly sprayed herself.”
“Does he have dementia?” Omar said, referring to comments the president made about her before the attack. She suggested that the number of threats she receives is directly correlated to how much President Trump targets her in his rhetoric.
“Every time the president of the United States chooses to use hateful rhetoric to speak about me or the community I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” she said, adding that the number of threats “has plummeted” during President Joe Biden’s time in office. She said she currently receives “the most death threats of any member of Congress.”
White House officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Minnesota leaders ask federal government for leave
The president’s aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota has seen ebbs and flows. Trump administration officials said they were targeting the Democratic-led state for fraud in welfare programs related to Somali immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security’s military approach to immigration enforcement has sparked a fierce backlash in the Twin Cities, especially after the killings of Preti and Good.
President Trump has said he intends to “soften” the agency’s approach to the nation, but it remains to be seen exactly how things will play out on the ground.
State Rep. Aisha Gomez, another speaker at the news conference, said of federal officials, “They don’t know Minnesotans.” “Minnesota people will not be intimidated. You can’t arrest all of us. You can come and try, but you are the few and we are the many.”
