Concerns over safety rise after assault on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

NORTH DAKOTA (KVRR) — Safety concerns once again rise after Representative Ilhan Omar was assaulted at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis. The suspect, Anthony James Kazmierczak, was arrested for a third-degree assault charge. But North Dakota representative Julie Fedorchak shares that this should never have happened.

“I absolutely condemn any sort of political violence, any acts like that against elected leaders or anyone. We shouldn’t have to endure that,” said Rep. Julie Fedorchak, (R) North Dakota.

Fedorchak previously mentioned that she had been assaulted by a gang of youths in Washington, D.C. Since then, she has increased her security.

“When you see the threats even to the state legislators and the killings of those two state legislators in Minnesota about a year ago, I mean, it’s really scary. And kind of takes your breath away, so you have to take these threats seriously, at the same time, be as successful as you can,” said Fedorchak.

In Fargo, city commissioners shared concerns about safety after a knife was brought in. Capt. Travis Moser said that there is now a minimum requirement to have two police officers at city commission meetings.

“It’s a public assembly where people have the lawful right to go, right. So we can’t just stop people because we know who they are or we’re making perceptions about their past. We still have to allow them to attend the meeting. But we also encourage our officers if you feel the need to have a good conversation, go have a friendly conversation with the person,” said Capt. Travis Moser, Fargo Police.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the assault on Rep. Omar.