MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — 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.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a town hall in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A man is tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stands during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
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 appeared briefly in federal court Thursday afternoon. His attorney, Jean Brandl, told the judge her client was unmedicated at the time of the incident and has not had access to the medications he needs to treat Parkinson’s disease and other serious conditions he suffers from.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster ordered that Kazmierczak remain in custody and told officials he needs to see a nurse when he is transferred to the Sherburne County Jail.
Kazmierczak also faces state charges in Hennepin County for terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Thursday.
“This was a disturbing assault on Rep. Omar, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public,” Moriarty said. “The trust of our community in the federal government keeping politics out of public safety has been eroded by their actions. A state-level conviction is not subject to a presidential pardon now or in the future.”
The attack came during a perilous political moment in Minneapolis, where two people have been fatally shot by federal agents during the White House’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Kazmierczak has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Omar, a refugee from Somalia, has long been a fixture of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. After she was elected seven years ago, Trump said she should “go back” to her country. He recently described her as “garbage” and said she should be investigated. During a speech in Iowa earlier this week, shortly before Omar was attacked, he said immigrants need to be proud of the United States — “not like Ilhan Omar.”
Omar blamed Trump on Wednesday for threats to her safety.
“Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar told reporters.
Trump accused Omar of staging the attack, telling ABC News, “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading Muslim civil rights group, praised federal prosecutors' decision to file charges against Kazmierczak.
“We welcome these federal charges for the attack on Representative Ilhan Omar as an important step toward accountability and justice," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. "The dangerous climate of dehumanization that inevitably leads to such violent acts puts public servants and entire communities at risk.”
Kazmierczak was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence and has had numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.
In social media posts, Kazmierczak criticized former President Joe Biden and referred to Democrats as “angry and liars.” Trump “wants the US is stronger and more prosperous,” he wrote. “Stop other countries from stealing from us.”
In another post, Kazmierczak asked, “When will descendants of slaves pay restitution to Union soldiers’ families for freeing them/dying for them, and not sending them back to Africa?”
Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years, peaking in 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters before dipping slightly, only to climb again, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Capitol Police.
Officials said they investigated nearly 15,000 “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex” in 2025.
Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter R.J. Rico in Atlanta contributed.
Follow the AP's coverage of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at https://apnews.com/hub/ilhan-omar.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a town hall in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A man is tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stands during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had dialed 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield home.
Sean Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder in a police brutality case that prompted protests over systemic racism and led to a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry. Grayson, 31, testified at trial that he feared Massey was about to scald him with a pot of steaming hot water that she had removed from the stove.
Grayson, who has been incarcerated since he was charged, received the maximum possible sentence.
He apologized in court, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused. His attorney sought a sentence of six years, noting that Grayson has late stage colon cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” Grayson said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
Massey's parents and two teenage children, who lobbied for the maximum sentence, said their lives had changed dramatically since her death. Her children said they had to grow up without a mother, while Massey's mother said she lived in fear.
“I cry every day," Massey's mother, Donna Massey, said.
“I’m afraid to call the police in fear that I might end up like Sonya,” she told the court.
State’s Attorney John Milhiser argued that Massey would still be alive if someone else from the sheriff's department had responded to her 911 call.
“Sonya Massey’s death rocked her family, but it rocked the community, it rocked the country,” State’s Attorney John Milhiser said. “We have to do whatever we can to ensure it never happens again.”
The family reacted with a loud cheer — "Yes!” — after Judge Ryan Cadagin read the sentence. He admonished them for the outburst.
“Twenty years is not enough, but they did what they could do,” Massey's 16-year-old daughter Summer told reporters after the hearing.
With a day shaved off his sentence for every day of good behavior, plus credit for nearly 19 months already spent behind bars, Grayson could be released in just under 8 1/2 years.
In the early morning hours of July 6, 2024, Massey — a 36-year-old single mother who struggled with mental health issues — summoned emergency responders because she feared there was a prowler outside her Springfield home.
According to body camera footage, Grayson and sheriff’s Deputy Dawson Farley, who was not charged, searched outside Massey's home before meeting her at her door. Massey appeared confused and repeatedly said, “Please, God.”
The deputies entered her house, Grayson noticed the pot on the stove and ordered Farley to move it. Instead, Massey went to the stove, retrieved the pot and teased Grayson for moving away from “the hot, steaming water.”
From this moment, the exchange quickly escalated.
Massey said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson drew his sidearm and yelled at her to drop the pan. She set the pot down and ducked behind a counter. But she appeared to pick it up again.
That's when Grayson opened fire, shooting Massey in the face.
Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, which could have led to a life sentence, but a jury convicted him of the lesser charge. Illinois allows for a second-degree murder conviction if evidence shows the defendant honestly thought he was in danger, even if that fear was unreasonable.
Massey's family was outraged by the verdict.
“The justice system did exactly what it’s designed to do today. It’s not meant for us,” her cousin Sontae Massey said after the verdict.
On Thursday, the same cousin said he was “thankful." He said there is “a long way to go” to eliminate the environment that "perpetuated, created this situation. We have to work on these outdated laws. We have to get them off the books.”
Grayson told the court he understood the Massey family's anger and begged for their forgiveness while acknowledging that wouldn't come “any time soon.”
James Wilburn, who ended his statement to the court by quoting his daughter — “Sean Grayson, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” — said later Thursday he understands the value of forgiveness, but that he cannot reconcile Grayson's apology with his claim at trial that his daughter was the aggressor.
Massey’s killing raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump negotiated a $10 million settlement with Sangamon County for Massey's relatives.
The case also generated a U.S. Justice Department inquiry that was settled when the county agreed to implement more de-escalation training and collect more use-of-force data. The sheriff who hired Grayson was forced to retire, and the case prompted a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the backgrounds of candidates for law enforcement jobs. Wilburn said that law should be implemented at the federal level.
Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen contributed from Chicago.
This story had been updated to correct the spelling of Judge Ryan Cadagin.
James Wilburn, father of Sonya Massey, reacts in Springfield, Ill., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, to the 20-year sentence given to former Illinois sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson for the July 6, 2024 shooting of Massey in her home in Springfield. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)
Donna Massey, mother of Sonya Massey, reacts in Springfield, Ill., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, to the 20-year sentence given to former Illinois sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson for the July 6, 2024 shooting of Sonya in her home in Springfield. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)
FILE - In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22, 2024, former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File)
FILE - This booking photo provided by the Macon County, Ill., Jail in January 2025, shows Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey on July 6, 2024, in Springfield, Ill. (Macon County Jail via AP, File)
FILE - Donna Massey, center right, wipes tears from her face as she listens to Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speak during a press conference over the shooting death of her daughter, Sonya, who was killed by Illinois sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson, at New Mount Pilgrim Church in Chicago, July 30, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)
