NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) – A Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar was sentenced to one year and two months in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official.
Anthony James Kazmierczak pleaded guilty in May and admitted to attacking Omar because he disagreed with her progressive political views. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen at a hearing in Minneapolis federal court on Thursday.
Kazmierczak’s lawyer said he apologized to Omar at the hearing but declined to offer additional comment, citing Kazmierczak’s pending assault and threats of violence charges in state court.
Omar, a progressive Democrat and outspoken critic of Republican President Donald Trump, was giving a town hall speech condemning the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis in January when Kazmierczak rose from the crowd and squirted her with a syringe of vinegar.
In video of the attack that was widely shared online, Kazmierczak can be heard saying, “You must resign.” He was quickly subdued by a security guard, and Omar continued her remarks.
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, a Trump appointee, has previously condemned the attack and called it part of a dangerous national trend of people channeling political hatred into criminal acts.
Rosen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the sentencing.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates)
