All Americans should be thankful that the man who tried to attack Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) during a town hall on Tuesday night was armed with only a syringe that had an apparently harmless liquid inside and was quickly detained by authorities.
What came next illustrated something else unsettling: Too many political leaders seem incapable of living in a shared reality or feeling empathy for their political opponents. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” President Donald Trump told ABC News. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) made similar claims: “This was staged,” he said. “At the end of the day, this is the Democrats playing games.”
There is zero evidence that’s the case. The 55-year-old who was arrested for third-degree assault against Omar has a criminal record and a digital trail of supporting Trump.
Trump certainly knows better. He twice came terrifyingly close to being assassinated in 2024. After Butler, Pennsylvania, he also faced baseless conspiracy-mongering on social media, as some on the left claimed the shooting had been faked. That was extremely offensive to the family of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed by Trump’s would-be assassin.
This tendency speaks to more than just the toxic wastelands of social media. Americans are so polarized and paranoid that condemning the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year proved difficult for a shocking number of people on the left. Meanwhile, the attack on the husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) became a cruel punch line among some Republicans.
By happenstance, the U.S. Capitol Police released its annual report Tuesday on the number of threats directed toward legislators. In 2025, investigators looked into about 15,000 “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex.” That was up from about 9,500 in 2024, 8,000 in 2023 and 7,500 in 2022.
A cavalier attitude toward political violence increases the risk of copycats. It shouldn’t take a willingness to court danger to run for office. But the profession is becoming increasingly dangerous. Just last week, a guy allegedly punched Rep. Maxwell Frost(D-Florida) in the face after telling him he should be deported and yelling a racial slur.
No one should want politicians to cocoon themselves because they fear engaging with unscreened constituents. However much someone disagrees with Omar on policy, it was good news that she finished her town hall. “We are Minnesota strong,” Omar said. “We will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”
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