The Minnesota man accused of attacking Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting had made some cryptic comments to his neighbor beforehand.
Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, faces a third-degree assault charge after the Tuesday incident in which he allegedly sprayed a foul-smelling liquid in the direction of Omar, the New York Post reported.
Kazmierczak was quickly restrained and then arrested.
His neighbor, Brian Kelley, told the post, that Kazmierczak had asked him if he could watch his dog in the event he got arrested.
"He said, 'I'm going to this Omar thing.' I'm like, Omar what? He said, 'This town hall thing.' And he said, 'I might get arrested,'" Kelley told The Post. "I figured it was nonsense. He wasn't going to do anything stupid. I said, 'Sure, I'll walk her.' But then the next day he said, 'Don't worry about it, I've got it covered.' I figured he blew that off."
Omar addressed the attack on social media, telling people that she was OK.
"I'm ok. I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don't let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong," Omar wrote on X.
The Hill reported that Omar continued the event after the incident. The website reported that police had not yet identified the liquid that was sprayed at Omar. Police who were working the event were able to quickly apprehend the man and Minneapolis Forensic Scientists were involved in processing the scene.
Kelley told the New York Post that Kazmierczak was in a car wreck several years ago and has been heavily medicated ever since due to a spinal injury. "He's also been diagnosed with Parkinson's," Kelley told the newspaper "He's only 55."
Kelley also described Kazmierczak as a "conservative" who did not like Omar.
