COMPLY or DIE: The Death of the American Citizen and the Rise of the Police State
Wajahat Ali
January 27, 2026
VIDEO:
#ComplyOrDie #PoliceState #CivilRights
America is being conditioned to accept a new rule: comply or die and the cost is now clear as state violence expands into everyday life. I’m joined by Danielle Moodie to expose how decades of foreign occupation tactics, media gaslighting, and constitutional erosion have converged into a domestic police state
http://Thelefthook.substack.com #ComplyOrDie
#PoliceState #CivilRights #Authoritarianism #StateViolence #AbolishICE #DemocracyInCrisis #Fascism #Constitution #Accountability #ice #trending #uspolitics #news #maga #breakingnews
America is being conditioned to accept a new rule: comply or die and the cost is now clear as state violence expands into everyday life. I’m joined by Danielle Moodie to expose how decades of foreign occupation tactics, media gaslighting, and constitutional erosion have converged into a domestic police state
http://Thelefthook.substack.com #ComplyOrDie
#PoliceState #CivilRights #Authoritarianism #StateViolence #AbolishICE #DemocracyInCrisis #Fascism #Constitution #Accountability #ice #trending #uspolitics #news #maga #breakingnews
The Arrest of DON LEMON and Black Journalists, and MAGA's Attack on the First Amendment!
Wajahat Ali
January 31, 2026
VIDEO:
#FirstAmendment #FreeThePress #DonLemon
Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, Traheen Crews, and Jamael Lundy were arrested not for violence but for doing their jobs. After failed court attempts, the DOJ pushed indictments through a grand jury, sending a chilling message observation itself is now criminalized. This isn’t about one protest or one church in Minnesota. It’s about whether a free press still exists in America and who gets targeted first when it doesn’t. Danielle Moodie joins us to break down why journalists are being targeted, how authoritarian crackdowns begin, and what this means for the future of press freedom in America
http://Thelefthook.substack.com #FirstAmendment#FreeThePress#DonLemon #JournalismIsNotACrime#PressFreedom#Authoritarianism#Fascism#DemocracyInCrisis #trending #news #trump #free
Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, Traheen Crews, and Jamael Lundy were arrested not for violence but for doing their jobs. After failed court attempts, the DOJ pushed indictments through a grand jury, sending a chilling message observation itself is now criminalized. This isn’t about one protest or one church in Minnesota. It’s about whether a free press still exists in America and who gets targeted first when it doesn’t. Danielle Moodie joins us to break down why journalists are being targeted, how authoritarian crackdowns begin, and what this means for the future of press freedom in America
http://Thelefthook.substack.com #FirstAmendment#FreeThePress#DonLemon #JournalismIsNotACrime#PressFreedom#Authoritarianism#Fascism#DemocracyInCrisis #trending #news #trump #free
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/27/us/minneapolis-shooting-ice-minnesota
Ilhan Omar Is Attacked During Minneapolis Town Hall on Immigration Crackdown
A man sprayed the Democratic representative, a frequent target of President Trump’s, with a strong-smelling substance before being removed by security. Mr. Trump suggested he might look to “de-escalate” the operations in Minneapolis.
Published January 27, 2026
Updated January 28, 2026
VIDEO:
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010672659/ilhan-omar-town-hall-minnesota.html?smid=url-share
“And D.H.S. Secretary Kristi Noem must resign"
During a town hall in Minneapolis, a man sitting directly in front of Representative Ilhan Omar rushed to the lectern and sprayed her with a pungent liquid. He was immediately tackled and removed from the room. Credit: Octavio Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
by Reis Thebault
Ilhan Omar Is Attacked During Minneapolis Town Hall on Immigration Crackdown
A man sprayed the Democratic representative, a frequent target of President Trump’s, with a strong-smelling substance before being removed by security. Mr. Trump suggested he might look to “de-escalate” the operations in Minneapolis.
Published January 27, 2026
Updated January 28, 2026
VIDEO:
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010672659/ilhan-omar-town-hall-minnesota.html?smid=url-share
“And D.H.S. Secretary Kristi Noem must resign"
During a town hall in Minneapolis, a man sitting directly in front of Representative Ilhan Omar rushed to the lectern and sprayed her with a pungent liquid. He was immediately tackled and removed from the room. Credit: Octavio Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
by Reis Thebault
Chris Cameron and David E. Sanger
New York Times
New York Times
Here’s the latest.
A man attacked Representative Ilhan Omar during a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, hours after President Trump suggested that he might “de-escalate” the aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has rattled the community and left two protesters dead.
The man sprayed Ms. Omar with a strong-smelling liquid from a syringe before being tackled by security. He was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of assault, said Trevor Folke, a spokesman for the Minneapolis police.
Ms. Omar, a Democrat who represents part of Minneapolis and has been a frequent target of Mr. Trump, was visibly shaken by the attack. But she continued speaking after a brief pause. As she was escorted out of the town hall by a pair of security guards, she told reporters, “I’ve survived war, and I’m definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think they can throw at me, because I’m built that way.”
Just before the man attacked, Ms. Omar had called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and impeaching the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, who has come under fire for making false statements about the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
The police identified the man accused of spraying Ms. Omar as Anthony J. Kazmierczak, 55.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Trump promised a “very honorable and honest investigation” into Mr. Pretti’s killing despite federal agencies’ unwillingness to cooperate with state investigators and indications in court records that they were conducting only a minimal inquiry.
Though Mr. Trump has taken less of a hard line about the killing than Ms. Noem and some other members of his administration, on Tuesday he again cast blame on Mr. Pretti for carrying a legally permitted weapon, which had been seized from him by federal agents who restrained him before he was fatally shot. “You can’t walk in with guns,” Mr. Trump told reporters, while also calling Mr. Pretti’s death “a very unfortunate incident.”
In the three days after Mr. Pretti’s death, Mr. Trump has had to reckon with a broad backlash over the encounter and his administration’s immediate moves to blame the victim, including by labeling him a “domestic terrorist” and “an assassin.” On Tuesday, Customs and Border Protection officials said two agents fired the shots: a Border Patrol agent and a C.B.P. officer.
Mr. Trump promised he was “watching over” the investigation into Mr. Pretti’s death but did not offer details. He also noted that he had dispatched his border czar, Tom Homan, to take over the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
State officials have asked a judge to compel federal cooperation with their investigation into Mr. Pretti’s death. And nine progressive prosecutors from around the country announced the start of a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.
Here’s what we’re covering:
- Watchdog report: Counter to claims by Ms. Noem, a preliminary review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s internal watchdog office did not indicate that Mr. Pretti had brandished a weapon during his encounter with federal agents, according to an email sent to Congress and reviewed by The New York Times. The review asserted that he had been resisting arrest.
- Border czar: Mr. Homan met with Gov. Tim Walz, whose office said that they had agreed to continue working toward a swift reduction in federal forces in the state and impartial investigations into the killings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman fatally shot by an agent earlier this month.
- Operational overhaul: In addition to sending Mr. Homan to Minnesota, Mr. Trump planned to pull Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who has been the face of much of the administration’s enforcement efforts, out of the state, according to two federal officials. But the president pushed back on the idea that any change in approach in the state was a retreat. “I don’t think this is a pullback,” he said, while repeating conspiracy theories and hyperbolic claims that demonstrators there are “paid insurrectionists” and “paid agitators.”
Michael Gold, Ernesto Londoño, Lauren McCarthy, Tyler Pager and Mitch Smith contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/politics/ilhan-omar-trump-attack.html
Attack on Ilhan Omar Follows Years of Trump’s Targeting Her
President Trump has spent years demonizing and dehumanizing the Somali-born Democrat from Minnesota, fueling escalating threats against her.
Listen to this article · 10:13 minutes
Attack on Ilhan Omar Follows Years of Trump’s Targeting Her
President Trump has spent years demonizing and dehumanizing the Somali-born Democrat from Minnesota, fueling escalating threats against her.
Listen to this article · 10:13 minutes
Learn more
Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, speaking before a man sprayed her with a liquid at a town hall event in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. Credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, speaking before a man sprayed her with a liquid at a town hall event in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. Credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York Timesby Annie Karni
Reporting from Washington
January 28, 2026
Reporting from Washington
January 28, 2026
New York Times
As President Trump riled up a rally crowd on Tuesday night describing immigrants bent on harming and killing Americans, he singled out one person in particular as an example of a bad actor.
Foreigners coming into the United States, he told his audience in Iowa, “have to show they can love our country; they have to be proud — not like Ilhan Omar.”
The crowd booed. They recognized the name of the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, whom the president has demonized and dehumanized for years with racist and xenophobic attacks, venting that she should “go back” to her country, referring to her as “garbage,” and mocking her hijab by calling it a “little turban.”
Not long afterward, at her own event in North Minneapolis, Ms. Omar was attacked by a man who rushed the lectern where she was speaking, spraying her with a strong-smelling liquid.
The scene, which unfolded as Ms. Omar was calling for the resignation of Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary who has carried out Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown, was shocking but hardly surprising.
It was exactly the type of situation that has caused so many lawmakers to cancel town hall events, in an era when violent threats against public officials have skyrocketed, becoming a chillingly routine part of the job.
But Ms. Omar is something of a special case. A Somali-born Muslim woman elected to Congress in an era defined by Mr. Trump’s bigoted attacks against immigrants, Ms. Omar has in the past seen death threats against her rise to the highest levels among U.S. lawmakers.
Security officers restrained a man who attacked Ms. Omar during the event on Tuesday night. Credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
When those threats have surged after Mr. Trump has targeted her by name, Ms. Omar has sometimes been assigned a 24-hour security detail from the Capitol Police. That added protection is available at the discretion of the House speaker.
But for the past year, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has not offered it to her, she noted in an interview last December. After the attack on Tuesday, Ms. Omar made a formal request for extra Capitol Police protection and Mr. Johnson agreed, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Ms. Omar’s campaign also sent out a fund-raising appeal to help her afford the private security that is often with her when she appears in public, as was the case on Tuesday.
Ms. Omar knew there was a possibility of violence erupting when she walked into her town hall on Tuesday night, prepared to address a community on edge after the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
And when she was attacked, Ms. Omar reacted with defiance. She did not cower behind the lectern; she instinctively lunged at the man attacking her and insisted on finishing her remarks even as her security detail and staff tried to persuade her to retreat. She did not cancel other events for the week and held a news conference at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
In short, Ms. Omar barely flinched.
“I’m built that way,” Ms. Omar said calmly as she left the community room at Urban League Twin Cities after her event, reminding a CNN reporter that she was a survivor of war.
Her reaction to the incident underscored Ms. Omar’s identity as a feisty fighter whose grit in the face of years of attacks portraying her as a dangerous political saboteur has only appeared to embolden Mr. Trump. He has raged against her using violent language of the sort that can motivate extremists and provoke assaults such as the one that unfolded on Tuesday.
“Ilhan’s toughness in the face of a bully and in the face of threats is what pisses off people like Donald Trump,” Representative Greg Casar, Democrat of Texas, said in an interview on Wednesday.
Her response was so stoic that her political adversaries online used it to back up their conspiracy theory that the attack had been staged, a charge that Mr. Trump quickly leveled.
Ms. Omar “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” he told ABC News.
President Trump returning to the White House on Tuesday night. He has repeatedly insulted Ms. Omar and suggested without evidence after the attack on her that it was staged. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
But it was difficult to see the attack as unrelated to Mr. Trump’s years of insults and slurs that for years have placed a target on Ms. Omar’s back.
At a recent cabinet meeting, the president referred to Ms. Omar as “garbage.” At a December rally in Pennsylvania, he complained that Ms. Omar “does nothing but bitch.”
He added: “Why is it we only take people from shithole countries?”
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that the Justice Department was investigating Ms. Omar who, he claimed “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.” Ms. Omar’s financial disclosures show that her husband, a venture capitalist, makes millions of dollars in income. But it was not clear how the president arrived at the $44 million figure. An investigation into Ms. Omar’s finances begun under the Biden administration appeared to have stalled for lack of evidence.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has targeted Somalis in general, saying, “I don’t want them in our country,” a refrain he began using during his first term when he would often whip up his rally crowds to cheer and chant for Ms. Omar to be sent back to the country where she came from.
For years, Mr. Trump has also helped spread the baseless conspiracy theory that she was married to her brother and residing in the United States illegally.
“She should get the hell out,” Mr. Trump said at his December rally in Pennsylvania. “Throw her the hell out! She does nothing but complain.”
The crowd responded by chanting: “Send her back! Send her back!”
After the assassination attempts against Mr. Trump during the 2024 campaign, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer, Republicans blamed Democrats’ harsh language about the president and his political followers for causing the violence. But that has not stopped Mr. Trump from continuing to fan the flames himself when it comes to his political adversaries.
As President Trump riled up a rally crowd on Tuesday night describing immigrants bent on harming and killing Americans, he singled out one person in particular as an example of a bad actor.
Foreigners coming into the United States, he told his audience in Iowa, “have to show they can love our country; they have to be proud — not like Ilhan Omar.”
The crowd booed. They recognized the name of the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, whom the president has demonized and dehumanized for years with racist and xenophobic attacks, venting that she should “go back” to her country, referring to her as “garbage,” and mocking her hijab by calling it a “little turban.”
Not long afterward, at her own event in North Minneapolis, Ms. Omar was attacked by a man who rushed the lectern where she was speaking, spraying her with a strong-smelling liquid.
The scene, which unfolded as Ms. Omar was calling for the resignation of Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary who has carried out Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown, was shocking but hardly surprising.
It was exactly the type of situation that has caused so many lawmakers to cancel town hall events, in an era when violent threats against public officials have skyrocketed, becoming a chillingly routine part of the job.
But Ms. Omar is something of a special case. A Somali-born Muslim woman elected to Congress in an era defined by Mr. Trump’s bigoted attacks against immigrants, Ms. Omar has in the past seen death threats against her rise to the highest levels among U.S. lawmakers.
Security officers restrained a man who attacked Ms. Omar during the event on Tuesday night. Credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York TimesWhen those threats have surged after Mr. Trump has targeted her by name, Ms. Omar has sometimes been assigned a 24-hour security detail from the Capitol Police. That added protection is available at the discretion of the House speaker.
But for the past year, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has not offered it to her, she noted in an interview last December. After the attack on Tuesday, Ms. Omar made a formal request for extra Capitol Police protection and Mr. Johnson agreed, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Ms. Omar’s campaign also sent out a fund-raising appeal to help her afford the private security that is often with her when she appears in public, as was the case on Tuesday.
Ms. Omar knew there was a possibility of violence erupting when she walked into her town hall on Tuesday night, prepared to address a community on edge after the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
And when she was attacked, Ms. Omar reacted with defiance. She did not cower behind the lectern; she instinctively lunged at the man attacking her and insisted on finishing her remarks even as her security detail and staff tried to persuade her to retreat. She did not cancel other events for the week and held a news conference at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
In short, Ms. Omar barely flinched.
“I’m built that way,” Ms. Omar said calmly as she left the community room at Urban League Twin Cities after her event, reminding a CNN reporter that she was a survivor of war.
Her reaction to the incident underscored Ms. Omar’s identity as a feisty fighter whose grit in the face of years of attacks portraying her as a dangerous political saboteur has only appeared to embolden Mr. Trump. He has raged against her using violent language of the sort that can motivate extremists and provoke assaults such as the one that unfolded on Tuesday.
“Ilhan’s toughness in the face of a bully and in the face of threats is what pisses off people like Donald Trump,” Representative Greg Casar, Democrat of Texas, said in an interview on Wednesday.
Her response was so stoic that her political adversaries online used it to back up their conspiracy theory that the attack had been staged, a charge that Mr. Trump quickly leveled.
Ms. Omar “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” he told ABC News.
President Trump returning to the White House on Tuesday night. He has repeatedly insulted Ms. Omar and suggested without evidence after the attack on her that it was staged. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York TimesBut it was difficult to see the attack as unrelated to Mr. Trump’s years of insults and slurs that for years have placed a target on Ms. Omar’s back.
At a recent cabinet meeting, the president referred to Ms. Omar as “garbage.” At a December rally in Pennsylvania, he complained that Ms. Omar “does nothing but bitch.”
He added: “Why is it we only take people from shithole countries?”
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that the Justice Department was investigating Ms. Omar who, he claimed “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.” Ms. Omar’s financial disclosures show that her husband, a venture capitalist, makes millions of dollars in income. But it was not clear how the president arrived at the $44 million figure. An investigation into Ms. Omar’s finances begun under the Biden administration appeared to have stalled for lack of evidence.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has targeted Somalis in general, saying, “I don’t want them in our country,” a refrain he began using during his first term when he would often whip up his rally crowds to cheer and chant for Ms. Omar to be sent back to the country where she came from.
For years, Mr. Trump has also helped spread the baseless conspiracy theory that she was married to her brother and residing in the United States illegally.
“She should get the hell out,” Mr. Trump said at his December rally in Pennsylvania. “Throw her the hell out! She does nothing but complain.”
The crowd responded by chanting: “Send her back! Send her back!”
After the assassination attempts against Mr. Trump during the 2024 campaign, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer, Republicans blamed Democrats’ harsh language about the president and his political followers for causing the violence. But that has not stopped Mr. Trump from continuing to fan the flames himself when it comes to his political adversaries.
Ms. Omar stayed and finished her town hall event after being attacked Tuesday night. “I’m built that way,” she said, in maintaining a calm but defiant demeanor. Credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Ms. Omar was 8 years old when her family fled Somalia because of its civil war. She lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for four years before immigrating to the United States and becoming an American citizen. Elected in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women ever to serve in Congress, Ms. Omar has had her time in the national spotlight overlap completely with her time as a recurring target for Mr. Trump.
In response to Mr. Trump, she has fought back harder. At one point, she released a timeline of her marital and divorce history, in an attempt to quash the unsubstantiated rumor about marrying her brother.
Nina Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in online disinformation who has studied the attacks against Ms. Omar, said that she has been one of the most attacked lawmakers for years, working under a steady stream of accusations about impropriety, corruption and the constant subject of sexualized rumors.
“It’s in some ways the least surprising possible target for an attack,” said Ms. Jankowicz, who briefly ran a government board in the Biden administration created to counter disinformation. “Omar and the rest of ‘the Squad’ have proven they are undeterred by the many heinous attacks they have been subject to over the years,” she said, referring to the group of young, progressive women of color in Congress.
“You develop a thick skin,” she added. “You also become a little bit jaded, which can be dangerous.”
After the attack on Tuesday night, Ms. Omar’s allies blamed Mr. Trump, suggesting he had fueled the violence through his racist language.
“It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and VP Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, said online. “Thank God she is okay. If they want leaders to take down the temp, they need to look in the mirror.”
In addition to being a Black woman from Africa and an immigrant, Ms. Omar has provided a particularly rich target for Mr. Trump and the Republicans in Congress who follow his lead because she has at times made seemingly antisemitic and anti-American comments that have raised eyebrows even among her Democratic colleagues.
In 2019, Democrats joined Republicans in criticizing her for writing online that certain pro-Israel groups were “all about the Benjamins, baby,” seeming to reference an antisemitic trope about Jews and money. She apologized for the comment.
Two years later, Ms. Omar appeared to equate terror attacks carried out by groups like Hamas with actions of the U.S. government when she wrote: “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.” She later said she had not meant to compare them.
In 2023, the House voted along party lines to remove Ms. Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments about Israel. Ms. Omar reacted with her typical defiance.
“Take your vote or not — I am here to stay,” Ms. Omar said on the House floor at the time. “I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?”
Still, Tuesday night’s attack appeared to cross a line even for the same Republicans who in the past have criticized Ms. Omar.
“Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks,” Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, wrote online. “This is not who we are.”
These days, Ms. Omar said she assumes the Somali community in Minnesota has been targeted in part because she has become the president’s personal obsession. Still, she has said she believes that the only way to handle a bully is to continue to get in his face.
“I’m ok,” she wrote online after Tuesday night’s attack. “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win.”
Ms. Omar responded to the announcement of a Justice Department investigation with the same impudence. “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ms. Omar was 8 years old when her family fled Somalia because of its civil war. She lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for four years before immigrating to the United States and becoming an American citizen. Elected in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women ever to serve in Congress, Ms. Omar has had her time in the national spotlight overlap completely with her time as a recurring target for Mr. Trump.
In response to Mr. Trump, she has fought back harder. At one point, she released a timeline of her marital and divorce history, in an attempt to quash the unsubstantiated rumor about marrying her brother.
Nina Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in online disinformation who has studied the attacks against Ms. Omar, said that she has been one of the most attacked lawmakers for years, working under a steady stream of accusations about impropriety, corruption and the constant subject of sexualized rumors.
“It’s in some ways the least surprising possible target for an attack,” said Ms. Jankowicz, who briefly ran a government board in the Biden administration created to counter disinformation. “Omar and the rest of ‘the Squad’ have proven they are undeterred by the many heinous attacks they have been subject to over the years,” she said, referring to the group of young, progressive women of color in Congress.
“You develop a thick skin,” she added. “You also become a little bit jaded, which can be dangerous.”
After the attack on Tuesday night, Ms. Omar’s allies blamed Mr. Trump, suggesting he had fueled the violence through his racist language.
“It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and VP Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, said online. “Thank God she is okay. If they want leaders to take down the temp, they need to look in the mirror.”
In addition to being a Black woman from Africa and an immigrant, Ms. Omar has provided a particularly rich target for Mr. Trump and the Republicans in Congress who follow his lead because she has at times made seemingly antisemitic and anti-American comments that have raised eyebrows even among her Democratic colleagues.
In 2019, Democrats joined Republicans in criticizing her for writing online that certain pro-Israel groups were “all about the Benjamins, baby,” seeming to reference an antisemitic trope about Jews and money. She apologized for the comment.
Two years later, Ms. Omar appeared to equate terror attacks carried out by groups like Hamas with actions of the U.S. government when she wrote: “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.” She later said she had not meant to compare them.
In 2023, the House voted along party lines to remove Ms. Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments about Israel. Ms. Omar reacted with her typical defiance.
“Take your vote or not — I am here to stay,” Ms. Omar said on the House floor at the time. “I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?”
Still, Tuesday night’s attack appeared to cross a line even for the same Republicans who in the past have criticized Ms. Omar.
“Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks,” Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, wrote online. “This is not who we are.”
These days, Ms. Omar said she assumes the Somali community in Minnesota has been targeted in part because she has become the president’s personal obsession. Still, she has said she believes that the only way to handle a bully is to continue to get in his face.
“I’m ok,” she wrote online after Tuesday night’s attack. “I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win.”
Ms. Omar responded to the announcement of a Justice Department investigation with the same impudence. “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Annie Karni is a congressional correspondent for The Times.
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-ilhan-omar-attack-smears-lies-racism
Trump and His Party Have Put Ilhan Omar in Danger for Years
The Minnesota congresswoman has weathered years of racist smears from Trump and his right-wing lackeys, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s attack on her.
by Prem Thakker and Asawin Suebsaeng
January 28, 2026
ZETEO
 |
Donald Trump’s response to the attack on Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar tells you exactly how much the president is shifting his tone, or trying to lower the temperature, after his violent immigration agents committed another murder in Minnesota.
Not one iota.
On Tuesday evening, as Omar spoke at a town hall in Minneapolis, a man in the audience stood up and interrupted her remarks, spraying her with an unknown substance – reportedly apple cider vinegar. The 55-year-old assailant, Anthony Kazmierczak, attacked Omar as she was calling for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished.
After the incident, many Democrats and a trickle of Republicans came out to condemn the threatening act. The president, meanwhile, maintained his horrific position on Omar.
“I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump said, suggesting the attack was staged. He added he hopes he doesn’t “have to bother” to see the video of the incident. “I don’t think about her,” Trump insisted – just one day after he peddled smears suggesting she is committing fraud. ...
Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost Is Assaulted at Sundance Film Festival
Mr. Frost, Democrat of Florida, said he was punched by a man who said the lawmaker would be deported. The man was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary and assault.
Listen to this article · 2:34 minutes
Learn more
Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democrat of Florida, said he was attacked during the Sundance Film Festival. Credit: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
by Jin Yu Young
January 25, 2026
New York Times
Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democrat of Florida, was hit in the face by a man who told the lawmaker that he would be deported at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, over the weekend.
The attacker “told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Mr. Frost said in a social media post on Saturday. “He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”
The Park City police said they responded to reports of an assault just after midnight on Saturday at the High West Saloon, a whiskey distillery and bar where a private party was being held.
Danielle Snelson, a community outreach lieutenant with the Park City Police Department, identified the assailant as Christian Young in an email Saturday night. Mr. Young “assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event,” Ms. Snelson said.
Mr. Young had “unlawfully” entered the event after being turned away because he did not have an invitation, according to Ms. Snelson. The police did not offer a possible motive for Mr. Young’s entry or assault.
The police arrested Mr. Young and booked him into the Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault.
Mr. Frost’s family moved from Cuba to Florida in the early 1960s, part of a wave of hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees who were flown to the United States, according to his campaign website.
Elected in 2022 at the age of 25, Mr. Frost became the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in Congress. He represents District 10, an area in Central Florida that includes much of Orlando.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, was one of several politicians who expressed their shock over the attack on social media. “Hate and political violence has no place in our country,” Mr. Jeffries said in a post on X.
“I am okay. Thank you for all the well wishes. We are in scary times,” Mr. Frost said in a later post on his personal X account. “Please stay safe and do not let these people silence you. Onwards.”
A representative from Sundance Film Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Variety, the festival organizers said in a statement that they “strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jin Yu Young is a reporter and researcher for The Times, based in Seoul, covering South Korea and international breaking news.
Mr. Frost, Democrat of Florida, said he was punched by a man who said the lawmaker would be deported. The man was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary and assault.
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Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democrat of Florida, said he was attacked during the Sundance Film Festival. Credit: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
by Jin Yu Young
January 25, 2026
New York Times
Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democrat of Florida, was hit in the face by a man who told the lawmaker that he would be deported at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, over the weekend.
The attacker “told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Mr. Frost said in a social media post on Saturday. “He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”
The Park City police said they responded to reports of an assault just after midnight on Saturday at the High West Saloon, a whiskey distillery and bar where a private party was being held.
Danielle Snelson, a community outreach lieutenant with the Park City Police Department, identified the assailant as Christian Young in an email Saturday night. Mr. Young “assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event,” Ms. Snelson said.
Mr. Young had “unlawfully” entered the event after being turned away because he did not have an invitation, according to Ms. Snelson. The police did not offer a possible motive for Mr. Young’s entry or assault.
The police arrested Mr. Young and booked him into the Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault.
Mr. Frost’s family moved from Cuba to Florida in the early 1960s, part of a wave of hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees who were flown to the United States, according to his campaign website.
Elected in 2022 at the age of 25, Mr. Frost became the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in Congress. He represents District 10, an area in Central Florida that includes much of Orlando.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, was one of several politicians who expressed their shock over the attack on social media. “Hate and political violence has no place in our country,” Mr. Jeffries said in a post on X.
“I am okay. Thank you for all the well wishes. We are in scary times,” Mr. Frost said in a later post on his personal X account. “Please stay safe and do not let these people silence you. Onwards.”
A representative from Sundance Film Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Variety, the festival organizers said in a statement that they “strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jin Yu Young is a reporter and researcher for The Times, based in Seoul, covering South Korea and international breaking news.
Family of man killed by off-duty ICE agent in LA demands charges: ‘The ache will never go away’
After Renee Good’s killing in Minneapolis, calls grow for accountability in the shooting of Keith Porter Jr on New Year’s Eve
US citizens and permanent residents: have you been racially profiled by ICE?
Sam Levin in Los Angeles
Friday 16 January 2026
The Guardian (UK)
After Renee Good’s killing in Minneapolis, calls grow for accountability in the shooting of Keith Porter Jr on New Year’s Eve
US citizens and permanent residents: have you been racially profiled by ICE?
Sam Levin in Los Angeles
Friday 16 January 2026
The Guardian (UK)
Keith Porter Jr.Family and friends of a Los Angeles man who was killed by an off-duty US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer over the holidays are urging local officials to arrest and prosecute the federal agent.
Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old father of two, was fatally shot by an ICE officer on New Year’s Eve outside his apartment complex, according to LA and federal officials. An LA police department (LAPD) spokesperson said after the incident that Porter had fired gunshots into the air. A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said the off-duty immigration officer was “forced to defensively use his weapon” while responding to an “active shooter”.
Much about the incident remains unclear. There’s no footage of the shooting. Porter’s family and local activists have argued that, contrary to the DHS’s portrayal of the events, Porter was not threatening anyone and was celebrating the new year. Jamal Tooson, an LA attorney representing Porter’s family, said Porter’s actions possibly merited arrest or citation by the LAPD, but the ICE agent, who was not charged with local law enforcement duties, instead subjected him to “a death sentence”.
Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old father of two, was fatally shot by an ICE officer on New Year’s Eve outside his apartment complex, according to LA and federal officials. An LA police department (LAPD) spokesperson said after the incident that Porter had fired gunshots into the air. A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said the off-duty immigration officer was “forced to defensively use his weapon” while responding to an “active shooter”.
Much about the incident remains unclear. There’s no footage of the shooting. Porter’s family and local activists have argued that, contrary to the DHS’s portrayal of the events, Porter was not threatening anyone and was celebrating the new year. Jamal Tooson, an LA attorney representing Porter’s family, said Porter’s actions possibly merited arrest or citation by the LAPD, but the ICE agent, who was not charged with local law enforcement duties, instead subjected him to “a death sentence”.
Trump press secretary launches tirade against reporter who asked about ICE
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Activists, local politicians and some celebrities have rallied around Porter’s killing, with many of them voicing increasing concerns about ICE’s aggressive raids and violent tactics in cities across the country. And the DHS’s track record of making false and distorted claims about people they have accused of crimes and violence has fueled concerns that the government cannot be trusted to provide a truthful account of Porter’s death.
Those fears have only intensified in the wake of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week. Good’s killing sparked nationwide protests, with the DHS calling her a “domestic terrorist” without evidence and Donald Trump insisting the officer, Jonathan Ross, fired in self-defense as Good “ran him over” with her car. Footage, however, showed her car was turning away from the officer when he shot her, and that he did not lose his footing or appear to be injured during the encounter.
Organizers against police brutality, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, mobilized community members to testify at an LA police commission meeting on Tuesday, demanding the LAPD disclose the name of the ICE officer who shot Porter and pursue criminal charges.
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Activists, local politicians and some celebrities have rallied around Porter’s killing, with many of them voicing increasing concerns about ICE’s aggressive raids and violent tactics in cities across the country. And the DHS’s track record of making false and distorted claims about people they have accused of crimes and violence has fueled concerns that the government cannot be trusted to provide a truthful account of Porter’s death.
Those fears have only intensified in the wake of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week. Good’s killing sparked nationwide protests, with the DHS calling her a “domestic terrorist” without evidence and Donald Trump insisting the officer, Jonathan Ross, fired in self-defense as Good “ran him over” with her car. Footage, however, showed her car was turning away from the officer when he shot her, and that he did not lose his footing or appear to be injured during the encounter.
Organizers against police brutality, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, mobilized community members to testify at an LA police commission meeting on Tuesday, demanding the LAPD disclose the name of the ICE officer who shot Porter and pursue criminal charges.
A woman holds pictures of Renee Nicole Good and Keith Porter during a protest in Los Angeles on 10 January. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images
“I’m heartbroken and I know that ache will never go away,” Wanda Turner, a longtime friend of Porter’s family, who considered herself to be a second mother to him, said in an interview. “The officer needs to surrender and do what’s right. I want him charged. Even if he thought Keith was doing something wrong, it wasn’t his place to just shoot and kill him.”
Late Friday afternoon, after publication of this story, Stacie Halpern, a criminal defense lawyer, confirmed she was representing the ICE officer who shot Porter, and identified him as Brian Palacios.
She said Palacios’ shooting of Porter was lawful and in self-defense.
“I’m heartbroken and I know that ache will never go away,” Wanda Turner, a longtime friend of Porter’s family, who considered herself to be a second mother to him, said in an interview. “The officer needs to surrender and do what’s right. I want him charged. Even if he thought Keith was doing something wrong, it wasn’t his place to just shoot and kill him.”
Late Friday afternoon, after publication of this story, Stacie Halpern, a criminal defense lawyer, confirmed she was representing the ICE officer who shot Porter, and identified him as Brian Palacios.
She said Palacios’ shooting of Porter was lawful and in self-defense.
‘Help our community get justice’
The shooting of Porter, who leaves behind daughters aged 10 and 20, was not caught on camera, and local and federal authorities have disclosed very few details about the ongoing investigation or what they believe happened between the two men.
The LAPD said in a statement that its officers responded to 911 calls to the complex in LA’s Northridge neighborhood at about 10.40pm and found Porter “on the ground”, and he was soon after declared dead. The LAPD said the ICE officer had “confronted” Porter, but declined to answer further questions about the incident.
ICE said in a statement that its officer lived at the complex and had “exchanged gunfire” with Porter. “Fortunately, our brave officer was not injured while protecting his community,” the statement said.
Tooson, the family lawyer, has said Porter may have fired “celebratory” gunshots to ring in the new year, telling the LA Times he believed several people were firing guns into the air. He also said a witness said they didn’t hear the ICE agent identify himself as an officer.
Tooson told reporters he did not believe there was “any exchange of gunfire” between Porter and the agent and suggested there was a “lack of corroborating witnesses and evidence, such as shell casings indicating Porter fired toward the agent”.
A person holds a sign for Keith Porter in Seattle on 11 January. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
The outrage around Porter’s killing has swelled in recent days, with protesters holding signs with his and Good’s faces, saying “Murdered by ICE”, and celebrities at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday wearing “ICE Out” and “Be Good” pins to honor them.
In LA, longtime community activists and Porter’s family have organized several vigils and protests. At the LA police commission’s weekly meeting on Tuesday, speakers one by one condemned Porter’s killing and called on LA leaders to take swift action.
“When are we going to press charges on this murderer? When is he going to be named? When is he going to be arrested?” said Jsané Tyler, Porter’s cousin. She questioned whether the ICE officer had been given a sobriety test or forced to turn over his service weapon and whether he took any steps to render aid. In Good’s shooting, witness videos showed agents blocking bystanders who attempted to provide medical aid.
“This is systemic. When is there going to be value placed on our lives?” continued Tyler, who is part of Black Lives Matter LA. “As an organizer, I never thought I would be standing here for one of my family members … I urge you guys, regardless of federal intervention, to really help us, help his family, help our community get justice.”
Dr Melina Abdullah, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA who has been supporting Porter’s family, said that in addition to seeking the ICE agent’s arrest and prosecution, “We’re demanding an end to the character assassination of Keith. He’s the victim, not the suspect … It’s disgusting the way DHS is talking about him.”
Halpern, Palacios’ attorney, said by phone on Friday that her client was “defending himself and the community” and repeated the assertions shared by ICE that Porter had fired at the officer. Palacios’ name was first reported by the LA Times.
LAPD declined to comment on his identification.
The outrage around Porter’s killing has swelled in recent days, with protesters holding signs with his and Good’s faces, saying “Murdered by ICE”, and celebrities at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday wearing “ICE Out” and “Be Good” pins to honor them.
In LA, longtime community activists and Porter’s family have organized several vigils and protests. At the LA police commission’s weekly meeting on Tuesday, speakers one by one condemned Porter’s killing and called on LA leaders to take swift action.
“When are we going to press charges on this murderer? When is he going to be named? When is he going to be arrested?” said Jsané Tyler, Porter’s cousin. She questioned whether the ICE officer had been given a sobriety test or forced to turn over his service weapon and whether he took any steps to render aid. In Good’s shooting, witness videos showed agents blocking bystanders who attempted to provide medical aid.
“This is systemic. When is there going to be value placed on our lives?” continued Tyler, who is part of Black Lives Matter LA. “As an organizer, I never thought I would be standing here for one of my family members … I urge you guys, regardless of federal intervention, to really help us, help his family, help our community get justice.”
Dr Melina Abdullah, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA who has been supporting Porter’s family, said that in addition to seeking the ICE agent’s arrest and prosecution, “We’re demanding an end to the character assassination of Keith. He’s the victim, not the suspect … It’s disgusting the way DHS is talking about him.”
Halpern, Palacios’ attorney, said by phone on Friday that her client was “defending himself and the community” and repeated the assertions shared by ICE that Porter had fired at the officer. Palacios’ name was first reported by the LA Times.
LAPD declined to comment on his identification.
‘A wonderful soul’
US law enforcement agencies have long faced backlash for demonizing and spreading misinformation about people killed by officers. LA activists argued the DHS was particularly unreliable, pointing to its account of Good’s killing, which Minneapolis’s mayor called “bullshit” and the state’s governor said was “propaganda”. The DHS has also come under scrutiny for claiming ICE officers have been widely subjected to “assaults”. Court records reviewed by the LA Times last year revealed many cases of alleged attacks involved no injury to the officer, and prosecutions have repeatedly ended in dismissals and acquittals.
“We cannot trust what is being shared with us by entities representing ICE agents, because they have not been truthful,” said Eunisses Hernandez, an LA city council member, who has been supporting Porter’s family on Monday. “When protests happened last year … the federal government said Los Angeles was burning to the ground. That was not happening.”
Hernandez called for more transparency: “We need to know who these people are in our neighborhoods taking people’s lives. This federal agent could still be participating in raids happening in my district.”
The DHS did not respond to detailed questions about the case and advocates’ criticisms and on Friday did not immediately respond to inquiries about the officer’s identity.
Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the LA district attorney, said in an email on Thursday his office responded to the scene and was investigating the case, and prosecutors would “review all evidence disclosed by the investigation to determine whether or not the law enforcement officer acted lawfully”. On Friday, he declined to comment on the officer’s identity.
Hernandez brought Porter’s mother, Franceola Armstrong, to a city council meeting last week, where Armstrong recalled how her son had called her every morning to say “I love you”. “Keith Porter was a wonderful soul. His heart was big,” the mother said.
A vigil for Keith Porter in Los Angeles. Photograph: Courtesy of Black Lives Matter LA
Turner, the longtime friend of Porter’s family, said it was painful to see officials “sully his reputation” and that he should be remembered for his joyful attitude: “He loved to make you smile.”
Adrian Metoyer III, a Los Angeles film-maker, said he and Porter, nicknamed “Pooter”, had been best friends since they met as teenagers in 1996, bonding over sports: “Pooter was hilarious, a joker, the life of the party.” Metoyer, now 45, served as a foster parent to teenage boys when he was in his 20s and recalled Porter’s support: “He was my second in command, my go-to guy to assist me in caretaking. He was always there to help people.”
Porter more recently held multiple jobs, at one point serving as an aide to students with special needs while employed at Home Depot, Metoyer said.
And he was a proud “girl dad”, Metoyer added; he shared footage of an interview he filmed with Porter in 2022 reflecting on his life. “I got two beautiful young girls and I’m going to raise them the way I’m supposed to,” Porter says in the footage while wearing a Dodgers shirt. “I pray. I talk to God. I talk to family. Because at the end of the day, that’s all I really got. But I feel rich … It’s gonna be hard to break me, because I have a strong spirit and I grew up with a whole lot of love.”
This article was updated on 16 January 2026 to include confirmation of the ICE officer’s name
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US law enforcement agencies have long faced backlash for demonizing and spreading misinformation about people killed by officers. LA activists argued the DHS was particularly unreliable, pointing to its account of Good’s killing, which Minneapolis’s mayor called “bullshit” and the state’s governor said was “propaganda”. The DHS has also come under scrutiny for claiming ICE officers have been widely subjected to “assaults”. Court records reviewed by the LA Times last year revealed many cases of alleged attacks involved no injury to the officer, and prosecutions have repeatedly ended in dismissals and acquittals.
“We cannot trust what is being shared with us by entities representing ICE agents, because they have not been truthful,” said Eunisses Hernandez, an LA city council member, who has been supporting Porter’s family on Monday. “When protests happened last year … the federal government said Los Angeles was burning to the ground. That was not happening.”
Hernandez called for more transparency: “We need to know who these people are in our neighborhoods taking people’s lives. This federal agent could still be participating in raids happening in my district.”
The DHS did not respond to detailed questions about the case and advocates’ criticisms and on Friday did not immediately respond to inquiries about the officer’s identity.
Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the LA district attorney, said in an email on Thursday his office responded to the scene and was investigating the case, and prosecutors would “review all evidence disclosed by the investigation to determine whether or not the law enforcement officer acted lawfully”. On Friday, he declined to comment on the officer’s identity.
Hernandez brought Porter’s mother, Franceola Armstrong, to a city council meeting last week, where Armstrong recalled how her son had called her every morning to say “I love you”. “Keith Porter was a wonderful soul. His heart was big,” the mother said.
A vigil for Keith Porter in Los Angeles. Photograph: Courtesy of Black Lives Matter LA
Turner, the longtime friend of Porter’s family, said it was painful to see officials “sully his reputation” and that he should be remembered for his joyful attitude: “He loved to make you smile.”
Adrian Metoyer III, a Los Angeles film-maker, said he and Porter, nicknamed “Pooter”, had been best friends since they met as teenagers in 1996, bonding over sports: “Pooter was hilarious, a joker, the life of the party.” Metoyer, now 45, served as a foster parent to teenage boys when he was in his 20s and recalled Porter’s support: “He was my second in command, my go-to guy to assist me in caretaking. He was always there to help people.”
Porter more recently held multiple jobs, at one point serving as an aide to students with special needs while employed at Home Depot, Metoyer said.
And he was a proud “girl dad”, Metoyer added; he shared footage of an interview he filmed with Porter in 2022 reflecting on his life. “I got two beautiful young girls and I’m going to raise them the way I’m supposed to,” Porter says in the footage while wearing a Dodgers shirt. “I pray. I talk to God. I talk to family. Because at the end of the day, that’s all I really got. But I feel rich … It’s gonna be hard to break me, because I have a strong spirit and I grew up with a whole lot of love.”
This article was updated on 16 January 2026 to include confirmation of the ICE officer’s name
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