A man who sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) with apple cider vinegar during a January town hall was sentenced Friday to 14 months in federal prison.
Anthony Kazmierczak agreed to the sentence under a plea deal with federal prosecutors in Minneapolis.
The 56-year-old Minnesota resident will also serve three years of supervised release and is barred from contacting Omar, a member of the progressive “Squad” of House Democrats.
Before the attack, Kazmierczak appeared to hint at what was coming in a cryptic conversation with a neighbor. While discussing his plans to attend Omar’s town hall, he reportedly said, “I might get arrested.”
During the Minneapolis event, Kazmierczak rushed the podium and sprayed the Democratic congresswoman with a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar from a syringe. He shouted that Omar was “splitting Minnesota apart.”
Omar’s security team quickly restrained Kazmierczak. He was later arrested and charged with assaulting a U.S. officer.
No one suffered serious injuries. However, Minneapolis City Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw, who attended the event and was also struck by the spray, later vomited.
The incident occurred as the Twin Cities faced heightened tensions over an increase in federal immigration enforcement operations and protests by civilians opposing those actions.
When a federal judge later asked Kazmierczak why he carried out the attack, he could offer only a vague response: “It’s fuzzy,” according to the Associated Press. His brother has described him as a “right-wing extremist.”
Kazmierczak had also published online messages supporting President Trump and criticizing former President Joe Biden.
Omar later told reporters that Kazmierczak was angry because Trump’s order seeking to deport Somalis had not resulted in enough deportations.
“He wanted to come get the person he thought was protecting the Somalis,” Omar said at a news conference.
Kazmierczak has Parkinson’s disease and was “heavily medicated” after a car crash years ago that injured his spine, his neighbor told The Post.
His sentencing memorandum also cited alcohol abuse and “a history of mental and emotional health concerns,” the AP reported.
