NEW YORK, Sept 18 — A Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar was sentenced to 14 months in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official.
Anthony James Kazmierczak pleaded guilty in May and admitted attacking Omar because he disagreed with her progressive political views. He was sentenced by US District Judge Joan Ericksen at a hearing in Minneapolis federal court yesterday.
Kazmierczak’s lawyer said he apologised to Omar at the hearing but declined to comment further, citing Kazmierczak’s pending assault and threats of violence charges in state court.
Omar, a progressive Democrat and outspoken critic of Republican President Donald Trump, was delivering a town hall speech condemning the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis in January when Kazmierczak rose from the crowd and squirted her with a syringe of vinegar.
In a video of the attack that was widely shared online, Kazmierczak can be heard saying, “You must resign”. He was quickly subdued by a security guard, and Omar continued her remarks.
Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen, a Trump appointee, previously condemned the attack, describing it as part of a dangerous national trend of people channelling political hatred into criminal acts.
Rosen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the sentencing.
