Trump says will 'deescalate' Minneapolis

WASHINGTON

A man is tackled after spraying an unknown substance at US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (L) during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP)

U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested he will "deescalate a little bit" " in Minneapolis, where tensions run high after the shooting dead of a nurse during protests.

The comments on Jan. 27 came the same day a man sprayed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with a syringe of unknown liquid at a Minneapolis town hall meeting, where she called for curbing the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Trump told Fox News that the administration was "going to deescalate a little bit" its operations in Minneapolis, adding that the plan was not a "pullback."

He admitted that Gregory Bovino, a hardline Border Patrol commander who is now expected to leave the city, was "a pretty out-there kind of a guy" whose presence may not have helped the situation. He sent top U.S. border security official Tom Homan to meet with officials there.

Trump also told reporters that he rejected the "assassin" label previously used by Miller to describe Pretti, adding that he wants "a very honorable and honest investigation."

Still, tensions remained high in Minneapolis after Omar, a Democratic congresswoman, was attacked by a man at a constituent town hall Jan. 27 night.

Omar had just spoken about the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and demanded that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem "resign or face impeachment," when the man sprang from the front row, made a remark and sprayed the lawmaker with liquid from a syringe as security leapt to grab him.

Omar raised a fist and stepped toward the attacker before returning to the podium to say: "Here's the reality that people like this ugly man don't understand: We are Minnesota strong. And we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw on us."

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