Kari Lake, the acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, cast doubt on the liquid-spraying attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Newsmax on Wednesday.
She called the episode "suspicious" while also saying no elected official should be attacked.
Asked about the incident in which Omar was sprayed with a liquid at a Minneapolis town hall, Lake said, "I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, OK?"
She added, "I don't believe anybody should ever be attacked. Something smelled funny about that whole thing ... it seems suspicious."
Lake said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that she heard others describe it as "a Jussie Smollett moment," and added, "I have to admit, it seems suspicious."
In January 2019, actor Jussie Smollett reported to Chicago police that he was attacked by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs and put a rope around his neck.
Prosecutors later said the attack was staged, and although a jury convicted Smollett in 2021 of felony disorderly conduct for making a false report, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 2024 on due process grounds tied to a prior prosecutorial agreement.
Lake posed a series of questions: "Did she file a report with the FBI? Is she asking for that man to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? What has been the follow-up?"
Authorities originally described the liquid as "unknown" but Wednesday it was confirmed it was just apple cider vinegar. Minneapolis police said officers saw a man use a syringe to spray it at Omar, then arrested and booked him at the county jail on suspicion of third-degree assault.
Police identified the suspect as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55.
In the interview, Lake said she had campaigned "in very difficult circumstances" and argued that if someone "squirted an unknown substance" at her, "there would have been police called in, security called in." Lake added, "What was the substance? And it just didn't seem right," and said, "my BS meter went off real big time."
Lake also asserted that "the fraud is breathtaking in Minnesota," and told viewers Omar had "not spoken out" about it, adding, "there are a lot of questions we have."
She said, "We are sick of paying taxes and having our tax dollars robbed," and argued, "If she's lied on any of it, we need to deport her immediately," while also saying, "Anybody who's been committing fraud needs to be held accountable, even if that means being deported from this country."
Federal authorities have increased operations in Minnesota to investigate allegations of fraud at Somali-run child care centers, following claims circulating that some centers improperly collected public funds.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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