The Justice Department has charged a man who squirted apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at an event in Minneapolis, according to court papers made public Thursday.
The man arrested for Tuesday’s attack, Anthony Kazmierczak, faces a charge of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating Omar, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
Authorities determined that the substance was water and apple cider vinegar, according to an affidavit. After Kazmierczak sprayed Omar with the liquid, he appeared to say, “She’s not resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart,” the affidavit says. Authorities also say that Kazmierczak told a close associate several years ago that “somebody should kill” Omar, court documents say.
Kazmierczak has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of Donald Trump, a Republican.
“intimidation” yall saw the video. that was attempted intimidation at best lol. she wasn’t intimidated for shit. ran right at the dude.
He should be charged with terrorism, because that’s literally what it was.
The right-wing political violence in this country is out of control…
Always has been
It’s getting worse as they learn what they can get away with
You’re not going to get a terrorism charge based on apple cider vinegar.
Squirting an unidentifiable liquid in someone’s face is terrorism.
Until it’s tested in a lab, no one knows what it is. It could be a strong acid, it could be a nerve agent. Neither of those things are unheard of, and either one can maim or kill in a matter of minutes.
Using fear or violence to achieve a political purpose is the definition of terrorism. The attacker was attempting to disrupt the town hall and intimidate politicians in order to suppress political speech.
It’s literal terrorism.
For real, I cannot imagine the insanely long list of charges if that had been a GOP member, every charge you could possibly pull out of your ass, multiplied by the number of people in the room/close proximity.
You’re not going to get a terrorism charge based on apple cider vinegar.
Too young to remember a post 9/11 America? People were getting hit with a terrorism/terroristic threat charge for way less than what this guy did.
Squirting an unidentifiable liquid in someone’s face is terrorism.
It was identified as something harmless. Terrorism is the use of deadly violence on soft, civilian targets. Generally, assaults on political leaders are considered something else. Terrorism is the continued threat of future deadly violence, not of squirting vinegar on people.
Until it’s tested in a lab, no one knows what it is.
I don’t think a lab test was required to figure out it was harmless. It was vinegar.
It could be a strong acid, it could be a nerve agent. Neither of those things are unheard of, and either one can maim or kill in a matter of minutes.
Yeah, but it wasn’t. If someone hit one of those ICE thugs with a black water balloon that was indeed filled with harmless water, would you support charging the thrower with terrorism?
Using fear or violence
No, it’s using violence to create fear of future violence. That’s the literal definition. Your personal definition waters down “terrorism” to a ludicrous extent.
It was identified as something harmless.
Not immediately, and if it had contained a nerve agent it would have been too late to do anything about it by the time it was identified.
Generally, assaults on political leaders are considered something else.
Terrorism doesn’t exclude attacks on political leaders, especially when they’re in civilian settings such as a town hall.
Terrorism is the continued threat of future deadly violence, not of squirting vinegar on people.
A brazen attack with a syringe filled with mystery fluid in the middle of a town hall is intended to have a chilling effect on political speech and communication between representatives and their constituents. It’s supposed to send the message “this could happen again, to anyone,” and is intended to stifle political opposition. It’s an intimidation tactic, which when applied to political purposes fits the definition of terrorism.
I don’t think a lab test was required to figure out it was harmless. It was vinegar.
There’s no way to determine that’s all it was without lab testing.
Yeah, but it wasn’t.
That wasn’t immediately known at the time
If someone hit one of those ICE thugs with a black water balloon that was indeed filled with harmless water, would you support charging the thrower with terrorism?
There’s a difference between water balloons and a syringe filled with mystery fluid. Also, if someone were throwing water balloons at ICE, the current administration would definitely call them terrorists. The charges wouldn’t stick, but it’s completely different from mystery fluid-filled syringe.
No, it’s using violence to create fear of future violence.
It’s using violence or fear (i.e., the threat of violence) to achieve a political purpose. Stochastic terrorism doesn’t utilize direct violence, but the threat of violence is often enough to achieve its intended effect.
Just creating “fear of future violence” isn’t it. Extortion, blackmail, racketeering can all create fear of future violence, but they’re not terrorism unless they’re done for political purposes. Terrorism is using fear to achieve a political purpose, whether through violence or threats of violence. That’s not my “personal definition,” it’s what it is. You can look it up.
So the people mailing fake anthrax isn’t terrorism?
We legit just had the president call Pretti a terrorist for trying to help a lady off the ground, like last week
Dude is lucky. She looked like she was about to to unleash fury.
But was the ACV with or without the “mother”? /s
Technically this was an acid attack.
Glad she is OK.
A tasty attack
Thank God it wasn’t acid or some even worse shit
I mean, it was acid. Just not a particularly strong concentration of it.
Yeah I was meaning something like sulfuric
Food-grade is thankfully not that harmful
Where are you getting food grade sulferic acid? Asking for a friend.
Sysco
The thong song guy?
No, that’s Sisqo. You’re thinking about the tech company known for their network products.
Not the Sisko that I was thinking of when I made the comment, but cheers!
You jest, but you can absolutely get food-grade sulfuric acid
Mmmm nothing like a slightly salted romaine salad topped with sliced onion, olives, tomato, olive oil and sulfuric acid. Just like Grandma used to make.
Lmao that’s crazy, had no clue
I’m literally shocked it wasn’t his own piss. Glad, but surprised.
He thought this was his out. He wanted it to be piss but was too scared. Prime MAGA chud.
Honestly, a real life two face representative could be a political powerhouse, Ilhan could pull it off and get some real work done.
What the fuck was that choice? Like… what, kinda smelly but edible enough that you could fool security by taking a little sip or something? Why not go with white vinegar in a water bottle? Actually, why vinegar at all? I have so many questions.
Also obligatory fuck that guy.
He likely heard about acid attacks and then saw that vinegar is an acid, without understanding that it’s a very weak acid that is usually then watered down to be safe.
I do know MAGA men have never stepped foot in a kitchen their entire lives, but I find that explanation a little too far fetched. He probably knows what vinegar is from the Lays potato chips he doesn’t buy since they’re too sour and hurt his excessively thin skin.
However, I do like the idea of him walking around with a bottle of vinegar, being too afraid to touch it.
I’m very relieved to hear it was only water and apple cider vinegar. “Unknown liquid sprayed by an attacker” is just short of actually wounding someone when it comes to anxiety induced.
MN should throw the book at him. And at anyone who helped him do it.
States need to stop people from collecting donations after this kind of thing. Crowdfunding assaults on politicians is not a road we want to go down.
See, I’d normally agree- but that law will only ever be selectively enforced against people like Luigi.
Good! Whether it was apple cider vinegar or acid or piss assault is an assault. The bad is this pos probably just got a front row seat and will speak at the RNC.
While technically correct, I vehemently disagree. I’m on the opposite side of the political spectrum to this man, but if it had been a left-wing supporter going at Noem or Miller, then the left response would be “it’s only a food product, it’s just to make a point - look at what the Trump Administration is doing killing people”. I think it’s fair to let someone off with a warning if it’s something innocuous.
No if it were one of them, I’d say “fuck them” because they’re they’re fascists. It’s not the same thing.
If it was an egg or roten fruit sure - something easily identifiable as harmless - but when you spritz something from a syringe - that does cross a line to me - you could see and hear the panic in the room of people understanding omar was not directly harmed but could be poisoned - that fear, the fear which interrupted and shortened her speech is what is criminal, just shy of terrorism, in my view
If its not illegal, then we’re going to go down a slippery slope of “im not touching you” style games, a line has tk be drawn and i place it here, somewhere between throwing a milkshale at someone as being a basic assult and spritzing someone with an unidentifiable fluid as being more than just assault
Literally terrorism not just shy. It was done to induce terror/fear/anxiety whatever else. Terrorism plain and simple.
Terrorism requires real violence. That term has been so watered down is essentially meaningless.
Remember the cop who got hit by the sandwich? He could’ve thought that was something more dangerous as well, even though it was innocuous.
Kim Jong Un’s brother was killed by squirt guns filled with poison.
The shooters thought they were pranking him. Some guy gave them plastic squirt guns and said “squirt that man we are gonna film it for the internet.”
The real assassin was never caught.
Lots of women have been scarred for life by a splash of strong acid, primarily in the Muslim world.
Squirting someone with a liquid is a terror attack.
Kim Jong Un’s brother was killed by squirt guns filled with poison.
The key factor is “poison”.
Well I also don’t believe in Carceral punishment so take that as you will.
may this man may forever be known as “the squirter”
That could be spun into a positive nom de guerre. May I suggest 'lil squirt instead?
Yeah this is way better. 'Lil Squirt.
Cause it was just a lil.
Please welcome to the stage 'lil squirt with his number 98385th on the charts single…
Apple cider vinegar? What a impotent futile gesture.
I’m happy it was just apple cider vinegar…. But how uncommitted.
Her beard should have let her punch him before the taking him down
bear?
Bodyguard
The thing I keep coming back to is that everyone said that it smelled really bad. I wonder if it’s a higher than normal concentrate of ACV.
ACV reeks, honestly. I imagine if you don’t know what it is and it’s just been used in an attack, then anxiety probably heightens your perception of it.
I … kinda like it? It tastes fine to me. I mean, I wouldn’t drink a glass of it, but a bit, yeah certainly
I wonder if he did dilute it with some of his own and used the vinegar as plausible deniability.
