A man sprayed a substance, later identified as cider vinegar, on US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and was tackled to the ground Tuesday evening during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have escalated after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month.

The audience cheered as the man, who was wearing a black jacket, was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, "Oh my god, he sprayed something on her."

Just prior to the incident, Omar called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.

"ICE cannot be reformed," Omar said.

Minneapolis police said officers saw a man use a syringe to spray the liquid at Omar. They immediately arrested him and booked him at the county jail for third-degree assault, spokesperson Trevor Folke said in an email to the Associated Press. Police also said forensic scientists responded to the scene.

Omar did not require any treatment, and continued the town hall for approximately 25 more minutes after the man was removed from the room by her security detail, saying she would not be intimidated.

There was a strong, vinegar-like smell when the man pushed on the syringe, according to an AP journalist who was present. Photos of the device, which fell to the ground when he was tackled, showed a brown liquid inside. Hazmat officials later identified it as cider vinegar.

Walking out afterward, Omar said she felt a little flustered but was not hurt. She was going to be screened by a medical team.

She later posted on social media, "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."

Preliminary reports indicate the liquid was non-toxic, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a press event Wednesday.

Moriarty said her office is reviewing its charging options, and that she has heard that the federal government "might charge the man as well."

The Minneapolis Police Department said Wednesday that the FBI is now leading the investigation and that it had no further public information.

Omar has been publicly criticized by President Donald Trump for years. In the past several weeks, Trump has called Omar a "fake sleazebag," and called for her to be thrown out of the US.

In November, Trump suggested that Omar “should go back" to Somalia, sharing to Truth Social a video of Omar addressing a crowd in Minnesota and saying “Somalia is our home" and referring to the President of Somalia as “our President".

During his first term, Trump frequently criticized Omar, including during the final stretch of the 2020 campaign, accusing her of “telling us how to run our country."

Omar, a member of “The Squad" of anti-Israel Democrats, is also known for her criticism of Israel, which goes back to 2019, when she came under fire after she suggested on Twitter that Republicans were attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

She subsequently issued a half-hearted apology before ultimately deleting the controversial tweets.

In October of 2023, she caused an uproar and was criticized after she retweeted a photo of dead children and claimed that they died as a result of the IAF's bombing of Gaza. The photo was revealed to be a photo of children who died as a result of the Syrian army's nerve gas bombing.

She later was quick to blame Israel for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza which was ultimately proven to have been caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket.

In a subsequent incident, Omar used an expletive in response to pro-Israel protesters on Capitol Hill who called her out for her refusal to condemn Hamas and demanded that she “go to Gaza."