In 2021, Anthony Kazmierczak shared a political cartoon on his Facebook page mocking U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for calling to defund the police while spending money on personal security.
Less than five years later, two of those security guards tackled Kazmierczak to the ground after he squirted Omar with a syringe of what was later identified as diluted apple cider vinegar during a town hall event Tuesday evening in her Minneapolis district.
Just before the confrontation, Rep. Omar had called for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “She’s not resigning,” Kazmierczak yelled after spraying her, according to an FBI affidavit. “You’re splitting Minnesotans apart.”
Omar called for a napkin before continuing her speech. Kazmierczak was arrested at the scene and was charged Thursday by federal and county prosecutors. On the federal level, he faces a single count of allegedly forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding, intimating and interfering with her official duties.
If Kazmierczak were convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of one year or eight years, depending on whether squirting liquid on Omar is deemed to constitute “physical contact.” His federal public defender did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged him with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.
“This was a disturbing assault on Rep. Omar, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a press release announcing the charges. “A state-level conviction is not subject to a presidential pardon now or in the future.”
The incident comes at a time of intense national attention on Minneapolis, due to the massive federal immigration crackdown underway in the city. Federal agents have shot and killed two protestors, both American citizens, in the city this month. President Donald Trump launched the surge pointing to allegations of social services fraud by members of the state’s Somali community, most of whom are U.S. citizens. He frequently disparages Omar, who is Somali American.
According to an affidavit submitted as part of the federal charge, Kazmierzcak had called for violence against Omar in a phone call with someone close to him several years ago.
“Someone should kill that bitch,” Kazmierczak had reportedly said.
Kazmierczak, 55, who also used the first name Andy, described himself online as an “empty nester looking to enjoy retirement and 2nd half of my adventure.” He has been married and divorced twice.
Patrice Benoit said she was “shocked” but not surprised by the allegations against her ex-husband, saying she had heard he’d made comments online about his conservative views and support for President Donald Trump.
“I am deeply, deeply saddened by the attacks on Ilhan Omar and extend my sincere wishes for peace and strength to her and her family,” Benoit said.
Benoit said Kazmierczak was not “overtly political” when she met him more than a decade ago.
Kazmierczak had been in a major car accident before they met that left him in “long-term” and “debilitating pain,” Benoit said. Kazmierczak was on short-term and then long-term disability and did not work during the time they were married, Benoit said.
Not long after the dissolution of his first marriage, he was convicted twice for drunk driving. And he was also convicted of a felony for unauthorized motor vehicle use in 1989.
Kazmierczak was sued in 2024 for failing to pay an outstanding credit card bill of about $1,000. Past charges on his card have included a late payment fee, internet and two trips to McDonalds.
He has two children from his first marriage. They have been estranged for more than a year, family members said. The kids “do not agree with his beliefs or actions,” his first ex-wife, Becca Bollingmo, told MPR News. “I want my kids to be left alone.”
In a statement posted on Instagram, the two children “vehemently” condemned their father’s actions and called it an “indefensible act of bigotry induced by the hateful rhetoric he regularly consumed.” They asked not to be identified because they are being harassed online.
“What Anthony did was racist and dangerous,” they wrote. “We condemn his actions.”
They ended their statement with support for the Somali community and calls to end the “ever-increasing federal violence against our city” and abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Kazmierczak’s public Facebook feed is a mishmash of pictures of motorbikes and muscle cars, his Glock semi-automatic pistol, his dog Laura and his children.
Kazmierczak hinted at his political beliefs through his choice of profile pictures. In September, the day after right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination, he changed his profile picture to President Trump standing in front of an event for Turning Point PAC, the political arm of the group of young conservatives that Kirk led. Two weeks later, he switched the picture to Trump embracing Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow.
In a group for a Twin Cities chapter of Turning Point, he posted that he’d been following Kirk for eight years, and with Kirk’s death, he wrote, “a chapter will be close(d).”
Kazmierczak has also suggested his support for Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars. He called former President Joseph Biden "spineless" and said one of his State of the Union speeches was "sad."
Kelly McTighe, a former co-worker who’s stayed in touch through Facebook, said that Kazmierczak frequently shared posts in support of ICE and right-wing causes. But he said there was “no added commentary or hate speech” on the feed.
“He just needs to find some good help,” McTighe added.
Trump responded to the attack by blaming Omar for it, telling ABC News “she probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” The comments fed baseless online conspiracy theories that Kazmierczak was in cahoots with Omar, something a longtime friend dismissed as preposterous.
“Andy is not what people are making him out to be. He’s not a monster,” Rhonda Nelson Stokes said. “He’s not what either side are making him out to be.”
