Far-right influencers and MAGA provocateurs are flooding social media with baseless allegations that the attack on US Representative Ilhan Omar during a town hall event on Tuesday was staged. The conspiracy theorists have labelled the incident a "Somali False Flag Scam" and "Jussie Smollett 2.0".
The attack occurred as Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, was calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the resignation of Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem. A 55-year-old man, later identified as Anthony Kazmierczak, walked up to the congresswoman and sprayed a brown-coloured liquid at her using a syringe. He was tackled, arrested, and charged with third-degree assault.
Witnesses reported that the liquid had a strong, foul odour. Omar insisted she was unharmed and continued the event, saying: "We are Minnesota strong. We will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us." In a social media post, she thanked supporters and stated: "I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work."
President Donald Trump added fuel to the conspiracy theories by suggesting that Omar "probably had herself sprayed". He had earlier described her as "garbage" and called for her to be "thrown out of our country". Democratic figures including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the attack and criticised the president's inflammatory rhetoric.
