Anthony Kazmierczak Gets 14 Months for Vinegar Attack on Ilhan Omar
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Anthony Kazmierczak Gets 14 Months for Vinegar Attack on Ilhan Omar
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Summary
A federal judge sentenced 56-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release for spraying Ilhan Omar with apple cider vinegar at a January town hall in Minneapolis.
Judge Joan Ericksen said the assault was planned, not impulsive, citing evidence that Kazmierczak secured tickets weeks ahead and texted at least three people that he intended to do something involving Omar.
Witnesses said Kazmierczak jumped up from the audience, sprayed liquid from a syringe and accused Omar of “splitting Minnesota apart” before her security team tackled him; Omar was unhurt and continued the event.
Defense lawyer John Fossum said Kazmierczak had stopped taking mental-health medication and struggled with alcohol abuse and Parkinson’s disease, while Kazmierczak apologized in court after earlier saying his memory of the attack was “fuzzy.”
The attack came during an immigration crackdown that had inflamed Minneapolis, adding to years of threats and political hostility toward Omar, a Somali-born refugee and frequent target of anti-immigrant rhetoric.