Late-night hosts praise Ilhan Omar’s quick reflexes after Minneapolis town hall spray

Representative Ilhan Omar was sprayed with a liquid during a Minneapolis town hall on Tuesday, and late-night hosts on Wednesday praised her quick reflexes after video showed her going after her attacker with her arm cocked.

Stephen Colbert called her “admirably tough under pressure” and said she looked “ready to throw some hands,” joking, “Explains her campaign slogan: ‘Ilhan Omar will fight for you and with you after school in the Panera parking lot.’”

Colbert also quipped that “the attacker has been identified as a 55-year-old man named Anthony J. Kazmierczak. As of this taping, we didn’t know what his motivations were. It might have been Donald Trump, it might have been Captain Morgan.”

Late-night commentary relayed witnesses’ accounts that Kazmierczak sprayed Omar with a “strong-smelling liquid” from a syringe and noted online speculation that it could have been urine. Colbert said, “I’m happy to say, turns out, the substance was apple cider vinegar,” and other hosts, including Desi Lydic, offered comedic takes on the incident.

What is known: the attacker has been identified and video shows Omar’s quick reaction. What remains unclear, as the hosts noted, is the attacker’s motivation, which was described as unknown “as of this taping.”

ilhan omar, anthony j. kazmierczak, stephen colbert, desi lydic, minneapolis town hall, town hall spray, video of attack, omar quick reflexes, syringe spray incident, strong smelling liquid, apple cider vinegar, urine speculation online, late-night hosts, hosts reaction, witness accounts, attackers motivation unknown, campaign slogan, panera parking lot, late night roundup, captain morgan mention