PHOTO: REUTERS
Man who assaulted US lawmaker Ilhan Omar sentenced to 14 months in prison
· The Straits Times- A Minnesota man, Anthony James Kazmierczak, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for squirting vinegar on US Representative Ilhan Omar during a town hall speech.
- Kazmierczak admitted to the assault, stating he disagreed with Omar's progressive political views and apologised at the sentencing hearing.
- US officials condemned the attack as part of a worrying trend of political hatred turning into violence, highlighting risks to public figures.
NEW YORK - A Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar was sentenced to one year and two months in prison on Sept 17 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 US District Judge Joan Ericksen at a hearing in Minneapolis federal court on Sept 17.
Kazmierczak’s lawyer said he apologised 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 US. 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 US attorney Daniel Rosen, a Trump appointee, has previously condemned the attack and called it part of a dangerous national trend of people channelling political hatred into criminal acts.
Rosen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the sentencing. REUTERS