WorldNetDaily has long hated Rep. Ilhan Omar. For instance, a February 2023 column by Star Praker praised Republicans for kicking her off a House committee: “I salute Republicans for leadership, beneficial for the country and beneficial for black Americans whose interests Omar pretends to represent.” And an October 2023 column by Mychal Massie raged that Omar is “morally opprobrious and boorish,” adding: “Omar can lie and deceive, but those of us who actually know factual history, recognize her as the malicious xenophobe she is.” Still, WND was briefly sympathetic toward her in a Jan. 28 article by Joe Kovacs:
A man is in custody after rushing U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Tuesday and spraying her with a substance during a town-hall meeting in Minneapolis.
The suspect, identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, jumped out of his seat and ran toward the Somali-born Democrat seconds after she stated: “DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.”
Still, Kovacs used the end of his article to push the idea that the incident was faked:
Rachel Scott of ABC News says she asked President Donald Trump if he had seen the video of Omar’s spraying.
“No. I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” the president said.
Some online suggested the incident was staged.
Later that day, Kovacs cranked out an entire article devoted to right-wing cranks insisting that the incident was faked:
In the wake of a bizarre incident Tuesday in which a man rushed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis and sprayed her with an unknown liquid, the internet is ablaze with some pushing for an investigation into what they claim is a staged attack.
“This is the most staged thing I have ever seen in my life,” said investigative journalist Laura Loomer, an ally of President Donald Trump.
“I’m calling for an immediate investigation into whether Ilhan Omar staged the spraying of her body at her Townhall tonight to distract from new reports over her marriage fraud and accumulation of $30 million worth of wealth on a $180,000 per year salary. There must be an investigation into this known fraudster.
“This looks very staged, and I would not be surprised if Ilhan set this up herself so she could cry victim as President Trump is exposing her and as Congress and the DOJ are investigating her and her husband.”
[…]Many online are pointing to the fact that Omar glanced at the suspect immediately before he stood up, and also was completely unconcerned for her own safety despite being doused with an unknown liquid.
Odd… Ilhan Omar gave a quick glance at the guy right before he stood up.
[…]DataRepublican opined: “Representative Omar continued her town hall because of one of two options: 1. She does not have the self-preservation instincts accompanying being sprayed with a smelly substance, such as getting a doctor to check it out or even as simple as washing it off. 2. She staged it. There are no other options.”
Kovacs irrelevantly added: “One A.I.-generated parody image shows Omar paying her assailant in cash after the incident.” That looks a lot like the fake image of Omar and the assailant that some right-wingers have cited as evidence the incident was staged.
As the Washington Post pointed out: “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. … However much someone disagrees with Omar on policy, it was good news that she finished her town hall.” Weird that Kovacs didn’t note that the alleged assailant is a Trump supporter.
Kovacs appears to have dropped the story shortly afterwards, presumably because even an Omar-hater like himself couldn’t keep that bogus narrative going. Consider this yet another reason not to trust WND.