House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed recent allegations surrounding Rep. Ilhan Omar, stating on Thursday that he hasn’t encountered any proof suggesting she orchestrated an attack on herself at a recent town hall. “I don’t have any evidence to believe that’s true,” Johnson remarked, confronting the rumors head-on. “We routinely handle member security issues, and as part of that protocol, I reached out to her, similar to how I would for any member facing such a situation,” he explained during his conversation with reporters at the Capitol.

Johnson noted that he had a brief discussion with Omar, during which she indicated that she felt adequately protected and was able to continue with her town hall event. This reassurance came in the wake of an incident involving Anthony Kazmierczak, a 55-year-old individual, who was apprehended and taken into custody on Tuesday evening. Kazmierczak allegedly sprayed Omar with an unknown substance while she was addressing her constituents in Minnesota, critiquing certain White House policies, including those on immigration enforcement.

In a contrasting comment, former President Trump speculated to ABC News that Omar might have orchestrated the incident herself, saying she “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” Despite such claims, Speaker Johnson’s remarks underscore a lack of evidence to support the theory of a self-staged attack, emphasizing the importance of assessing the situation based on available facts.

Omar’s attacker was identified as Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, who was tackled to the ground and arrested Tuesday evening after spraying Omar with an unknown substance during a town hall in her district while the lawmaker was critiquing White House policies including immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

After the attack, President Trump told ABC News, she “probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”

The president also referred to her as a “fraud” after weeks of criticism against the sole Somali American lawmaker in Congress.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said the attack was “certainly” spurred by Trump’s rhetoric surrounding immigration and Somali immigrants specifically, who the White House leader has referred to as “garbage.”

The Minnesota Democrat wrote later Tuesday on the social platform X: “I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work.”

“I don’t let bullies win,” she added. “Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”

Johnson urged all lawmakers to “stay safe.”

“We need all lawmakers to stay safe, it’s a dangerous time,” he told reporters.

His comments follow an increase in political violence including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, death of former Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and an attack on Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)