Police Identify Orange Substance Sprayed at Rep. Ilhan Omar During Town Hall Attack

The orange substance that an attacker sprayed at Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar during a Tuesday, Jan. 27 town hall has been identified.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN that forensic examiners had determined the liquid inside the syringe wielded by a man later identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak was likely to be apple cider vinegar.

CBS News also reported the news, citing investigators.

Omar’s office told CNN that the congresswoman had likely been sprayed by apple cider vinegar, as well, citing preliminary reports.

The Minneapolis Police Department and a spokesperson for Omar didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

Prior to the attack, Omar, 43, had been speaking to constituents about the ongoing unrest in Minneapolis, as well as calling for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the resignation or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Just after she mentioned Noem, Kazmierczak, who was seated in the front row, jumped up and approached her, spraying her shirt with the unknown substance from a syringe, according to C-SPAN footage.

Several people cried out in concern, with one person alerting the crowd, “He sprayed something,” according to the video.

Kazmierczak was quickly apprehended by security, tackled to the ground and escorted out of the building. He was then booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, police told PEOPLE.

Following the disruption, Omar’s security and staff offered her the opportunity to conclude the town hall, but the politician continued, saying, “We will continue. These f—ing assholes are not going to get away with it.”

When she resumed, the congresswoman told the crowd, “Here’s the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand: We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”

After Tuesday’s incident, Omar wrote in an X post, “I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work.”

“I don’t let bullies win,” she added. “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”

When asked about the attack shortly after it happened, President Donald Trump had little sympathy for Omar, whom he has repeatedly attacked in the press, calling her “garbage” and saying she should be “in jail” or “sent back to Somalia.”

Trump said he hadn’t seen a video of the assault, but told ABC News’ Rachel Scott, “I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”

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A spokesperson for Omar didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment regarding Trump’s remarks.

The attack on Omar came a day after the president said the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congress were “looking at” the congresswoman, claiming that she’d “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday, Jan. 26.

Omar then replied in an X post, “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” adding, “Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota.”